Four More Participants in Dagestan Airport Riot Receive 10-Year Sentences from Stavropol Court

A court in southern Russia sentenced four individuals to ten years in prison each on Wednesday for their involvement in an anti-Israeli riot at an airport in the Republic of Dagestan over a year ago.

The defendants were part of a crowd of approximately 1,200 people who stormed Makhachkala International Airport on October 29, 2023, spurred by social media rumors that a flight from Tel Aviv was carrying Israeli and Jewish passengers.

Following the unrest, authorities detained at least 105 individuals, with unrest in the North Caucasus region of Russia being fueled by anger over Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

The individuals, identified as Arsen Arbuliyev, Malik Aliyev, Saidpandi Abdulazizov, and Nazhmudin Abakarov, were convicted of participating in mass riots and breaching transportation safety regulations, according to the Stavropol regional prosecutor’s office.

The Mineralovodsky City Court handed down the ten-year sentences to be served in a medium-security facility, citing the public danger associated with their actions.

While officials did not disclose the specific roles of the defendants in the incident, they noted that the riot resulted in damages exceeding 24 million rubles (about $286,000) and left 23 law enforcement officers injured.

Due to the sensitive nature of the case, the trials were relocated from Dagestan to courts in the nearby Stavropol and Krasnodar regions.

Additionally, authorities have issued arrest warrants for seven other alleged rioters, including three individuals accused of orchestrating the attack, as reported by the Interfax news agency.