October 12, 2023

Kadyrov: A Medal for My Son


Kadyrov: A Medal for My Son
Ramzan Kadyrov with his son Adam in the background. Eli Dror, Twitter.

The Head of the Chechen State, Ramzan Kadyrov, awarded his son Adam the "Hero of Chechnya" medal. The reason? In a video recorded by his father, the 15-year-old can be seen beating up a prisoner in a pre-trial jail who has been accused of burning a Qu'ran.

On May 22, Nikita Zhuravel allegedly burned a Qu'ran in front of a mosque in Volgograd and was subsequently arrested on charges of insulting the feelings of believers. Volgograd's authorities have also accused Zhuravel of sending a video of his Islamophobic action to the Ukrainian Secret Services. Zhuravel was sent to a detention center in Grozny, Chechnya, where he awaits trial.

In mid-August, Zhuravel reported that Adam Kadyrov, the son of the Chechen Head of State, had attacked him in a detention center. Chechen police refused to charge the 15-year-old for assault. In fact, Ramzan Kadyrov posted a video of the beating on his social media, applauding his son's actions. Shortly after, he awarded his son with the medal "Hero of Chechnya," the highest regional award, for his extrajudicial punishment of the prisoner.

Kadyrov has governed Chechnya since 2007, not long after his father, then president of Chechnya, was assassinated. A close ally of the Russian president, Kadyrov called for the 2024 elections to be canceled due to the war, or to have Vladimir Putin as the only candidate.

 

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