A Russian man went on trial Thursday on charges of high treason for a video he had allegedly sent to Ukraine's security services, the latest in a growing series of espionage cases involving the conflict.
The Volgograd District Court began hearing a new case against Nikita Zhuravel, who is currently serving a 3 1/2-year sentence for burning a Quran in front of a mosque.
The new charges are based on allegations that Zhuravel filmed a trainload of military equipment and warplanes in 2023 and sent the video to a representative of Ukraine's security agency. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.
Rights activists say Zhuravel is a political prisoner who was beaten while in custody.
While in pretrial custody before his first sentence, Zhuravel was beaten by the 15-year-old son of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed strongman leader of the mostly Muslim region of Chechnya. The elder Kadyrov posted the video on social media and praised his son, causing public outrage. He later awarded his son with the medal of "Hero of the Republic of Chechnya."
