Russia convicts five men for anti-Israel riots at Dagestan airport

A court in southern Russia sentenced five men to more than six years in prison each on Friday. These were the first convictions in connection with the anti-Israel mass riots last October at an airport in the predominantly Muslim region of Dagestan.

The men, who were sentenced to prison terms ranging from just over six to nine years for participating in riots, admitted no guilt, the court in Krasnodar region said. One of the rioters was also found guilty of using violence against a government official.

Due to the sensitivity of the case, the trial was moved from Dagestan to Krasnodar.

Last October, during a wave of unrest in the North Caucasus, hundreds of anti-Israel rioters stormed the airport in the city of Makhachkala, where a plane from Tel Aviv had just landed.

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Video footage showed the rioters, mostly young men, waving Palestinian flags, smashing glass doors and running through the airport shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greater).

Sergei Melikov, the head of the Dagestan region, visits the synagogue in Derbent after an attack by gunmen and a fire in the Dagestan region, Russia, June 24, 2024. This still from a video is shown. (Source: CHIEF OF DAGESTAN REGION SERGEI MELIKOV VIA TELEGRAM/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

The crowd gathered at the airport after a message on a local Telegram channel called on Dagestan residents to deal with the “uninvited guests” in an “adult manner” and persuade the plane and its passengers to turn around and fly elsewhere.

The channel, which was later blocked by Telegram, did not use the word “Jew” but referred to the plane’s passengers as “unclean.”

In Khasavyurt, also in Dagestan, rioters gathered outside a hotel reportedly housing Israelis who had fled the fighting. Some rioters entered the hotel and left only after making sure there were no Israelis inside.

The Telegram channel ChP Dagestan reported that the unrest in Khasavyurt began after “a person resembling an Israeli citizen” was seen walking around near the hotel.

Russian radio station Echo FM reported that a resident of Dagestan stated: “I went into every room and checked every person. I looked at the passport, looked at the face to see if this face matches the passport. There are no (Jews) there, brothers, you are simply being provoked. We must go home. Congratulations to everyone who came, you are all caring.”

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Before security forces were able to bring the unrest under control, more than 20 people were injured. No one on board the plane was hurt.

Police arrested dozens of people whose cases are now being tried in Russian courts.

President Vladimir Putin blamed the West and Ukraine for the unrest, but offered no evidence. Kyiv denied any involvement and the United States strongly condemned the violence.

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