A Russian, detained and convicted of burning the Koran, was now also charged with treason. Prosecutors in the case claim that he gave Ukraine a video of the movement of Russian military equipment, Reuters reported, as quoted by BTA.
A statement from the General Prosecutor's Office of Russia said that 20-year-old Nikita Zhuravel was accused of sending a representative of Ukrainian intelligence video footage showing a cargo train carrying military aircraft, as well as information about the movement of a car connected with a Russian military base. Prosecutors claim that Zhuravel on his own initiative sent the materials to Ukrainian intelligence.
Reuters was not immediately able to ascertain which lawyer is representing Juravel in the treason case.
Zhuravel has been serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence after being convicted under Russian blasphemy law for publicly burning a Koran in his hometown of Volgograd.
The case drew international attention last year when Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov released a video showing his son Adam beating and kicking the accused, who was awaiting trial at the time.
Earlier, Russian investigators transferred his case to Chechnya. The Investigative Committee, which deals with serious crimes, said this was because they had received many requests from residents of the region, where Islam is widely practiced, to be designated as persons who were morally harmed by Juravel's actions.