Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia's Chechen Republic, lauded his teenage son on Monday for beating up a prisoner accused of burning the Quran, the holy text of Islam.
On Telegram, Kadyrov published a video of the beating down, saying he was proud of his son's actions.
In a translation by Reuters, Kadyrov wrote: ''It is up to Russia to make peace,'' said Mr. Kadyrov.
A young man dressed in khaki is seen in the video kicking and slapping a man in black. The boy in black covers his face and returns as the teenager pulls him from a chair and strikes his head.
The Moscow Times reported in May that Zhuravel, 19 years old, was arrested after he was accused of setting fire to a copy of the Quran outside a mosque in the city of Volgograd.
The United States Commission of International Religious Freedom said Zhuravel was then sent to Chechnya to be prosecuted, according to the United States Commission of International Religious Freedom.
Russia's Investigatory Committee said Zhuravel admitted to having been paid to burn the holy text, but it's uncertain whether his confession was genuine.
After being detained, he filed a complaint to the Russian Human Rights Commission (Tayana Moskalkova) in August, saying he was beaten by Kadyrov's son, per an independent Russian outlet Meduza.
Moskalkova said there was an investigation into the incident.
In Chechnya, officials in Chechnya praised Kadyrov's son for beating up Zhuravel.
Adam Delimkhanov, a Chechen member of parliament, posted a photo of him posing with the younger Kadyrov, and expressed support for his actions.
The population of Chechnya, which has about 1.5 million people, is a mostly Muslim region in Russia. The Quran is viewed as offensive if it is burned or destroyed.
Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya for 16 years and sought to make a strongman image for himself and his three sons, wrote on Monday that damaging the Islamic holy text was an offense to all of Russia.
The people who violate the text are a sick tumor on the body that must be cauterized, he said.
As of yesterday, it received 16,400 thumbs-up emojis and more than 7,000 other positive reactions.