Murdiev's mother fears revenge for Zhuravel in the Volgograd prison colony.
Chechen teenager Roman Murdiev was sent to a correctional facility in the Volgograd region after the appeal court's decision came into force. The teenager's mother appealed to Putin and Kadyrov to ensure the child's safety, as threats have been made threatening revenge for Nikita Zhuravel, who was beaten by Adam Kadyrov.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 29, 2025, a Moscow court sentenced ninth-grader Roman (Muslim) Murdiev to one year and 11 months in prison. Murdiev was charged with disturbing public order and using violence (Article 213 of the Russian Criminal Code) after a fight in which the teenager, according to him, stood up for a 12-year-old boy he knew. The defense maintains Murdiev's innocence. On November 25, the First Appellate Court of General Jurisdiction in Moscow considered the appeal in Murdiev’s case without notifying his mother or his main lawyers. The teenager is studying and receiving medication in the pretrial detention center, but he has not undergone the required medical examination, his mother stated.
The appeal of Roman (Muslim) Murdiyev's mother to the President of Russia and the head of Chechnya was published on his Instagram page* by the boy's lawyer, Aslanbek Minkailov.
"Since September 29, 2025, my son has been held in Pretrial Detention Center No. 5 "Vodnik" in Moscow. According to the court's verdict, he was sentenced to a term of 1 year and 11 months. There were about 30 days left until the end of his term. On June 5, 2026, he was handed the appellate ruling of March 26, 2026, and a few hours later he was informed of an urgent transfer to a juvenile correctional facility," she said.
Our family has repeatedly received threats of harm to the life and health of a minor. Some messages contained the words: "Greetings from Volgograd, we will avenge Nikita Zhuravel."
According to her, what is particularly alarming is the fact that her son was sent to the Volgograd region. "After the appeal and most recently, our family has repeatedly received threats of harm to the life and health of a minor. Some messages contained the words: "Greetings from Volgograd, we will avenge Nikita Zhuravel." We take these threats seriously and fear for the safety of the child," she said.
The woman noted that her son has the right to life, health, safety, and protection, regardless of the circumstances of the case. "I ask: to ensure the safety of my son; to prevent provocations and violence against the child; to take control of the situation; to guarantee the observance of his legal rights. I am not asking for privileges. "I ask only one thing—that nothing happens to my child," the statement reads.
On September 25, 2023, Ramzan Kadyrov published a video of his son, Adam, beating Zhuravel in a pretrial detention center. The head of Chechnya praised his son for this act, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "The beating of Nikita Zhuravel: why did Kadyrov's men need to publish the video".
A screenshot of two messages was attached to the statement. In one of them, the teenager is threatened with a "sharp knife." "Are you surprised that he was sent straight into our hands, to the hero city of Volgograd? Everything is going according to plan. "What your medal-winning hero (name hidden) did to the defenseless Russian guy Nikita Zhuravel, you will get back a hundredfold from your favorite Muslim," another message from June 10 reads.
Murdiyev's case has attracted the attention of human rights activists and politicians. In December 2024, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov criticized the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Investigative Committee for initiating a case against the teenager, and the Chechen human rights ombudsman demanded protection for Murdiyev's family from threats against their relatives. "Murdiyev's case shows that the people at the top, like Bastrykin and Kolokoltsev, are in the wrong places," the head of Chechnya said at the time. "Kolokoltsev gave the order: now they're beating up newcomers, taking them away, kicking them out—our brothers, the ones we need. Then they say no one wants to be friends with us, to communicate with us. They don't believe us. How can this be? Why did we lose Ukraine, why did we lose Georgia? Why are relations with other countries so strained? Because these people are in the wrong places. They're not fulfilling the tasks set by the country's president with dignity and quality," he said.
On December 4, 2024, 18 months ago, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov announced that Murdiyev would not be imprisoned. He then announced that human rights activists, deputies, senators, and he personally were handling Murdiyev's case. "They won't jail him; they won't do anything to him. I've personally spoken to everyone. He'll be released soon," Ramzan Kadyrov expressed confidence, as quoted by the Chechnya Segodnya news agency that same day.
As a reminder, the defense and family insist that Muslim Murdiyev did not initiate the conflict and was standing up for the younger teenager. According to them, the case was marred from the very beginning by procedural violations, denials of defense motions, and disregard for evidence presented by the lawyers.
Murdiyev's lawyers previously alleged pressure on the teenager, restrictions on his right to a defense, and a disproportionate preventive measure. The defense also pointed out that, under similar circumstances, other defendants in the case, not originally from the North Caucasus, were removed from the indictment and served as witnesses.
Murdiyev's case had previously generated widespread public outcry, with human rights activists and relatives calling the trial a show trial and pointing out possible ethnic bias.