Seven participants in the riots at Makhachkala airport received long sentences

The Stavropol Regional Court sentenced seven residents of Dagestan to 14 to 15 years in a strict regime prison. Their defense promised to appeal the verdict. The total number of those convicted for the pogrom at the Makhachkala airport in 2023 has reached 129.

As reported by "Kavkazsky Uzel", earlier colleagues of one of those convicted today, Mikail Razakov, recorded in the special operation zone in Ukraine a video message to the head of Dagestan Sergei Melikov, in which they asked for help with transferring Razakov to house arrest due to his deteriorating health.

On July 16, the Stavropol Regional Court announced the verdict for seven defendants - Mikail Razakov, Jamal Ibavoov, Bashir Magomedov, Ilyas Nasuyev, Kamil Ibragimkhalilov, Ruslan Murtazaliev and Arslan Magomedov. They were found guilty of mass riots accompanied by violence and destruction of property, failure to comply with transport security requirements and an attempt on the life of a law enforcement officer. All of them were sentenced to terms of 14 to 15 years, the first three of which will be served in prison, and the rest of the period in a maximum-security penal colony. "In addition, each of them was given an additional punishment in the form of restriction of freedom for a period of two years," the regional prosecutor's office said in a statement on its website.

"The verdict has only just been announced, and we have not yet received the text. As soon as we receive the text, we will definitely file an appeal, and if that fails, a cassation appeal," the lawyer of one of the defendants told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on condition of anonymity.

It should be noted that the prosecutor's office's publication claims that the defendants "on the basis of national and religious hatred and enmity towards Israeli citizens, refusing to comply with the lawful demands of law enforcement officers, took part in mass riots." At the same time, the department did not specify what actions each of the defendants was charged with, and did not specify which of them was sentenced to what term.

Recall that many of the defendants stated that they were at the airport, but did not take part in the riots. At the same time, some guilty verdicts were handed down contrary to the testimony of witnesses. Thus, in January, police officers could not identify two defendants in court - Magomedgadzhi Chirgilaev and Yasin Gadzhiev. The defendants themselves claimed that they went to the airport out of curiosity to see what was going on there. They told their lawyer that they were beaten to force them to incriminate themselves. Despite this, on February 27, the court sentenced them to long prison terms.

Mass riots at Makhachkala airport occurred on October 29, 2023, due to a report of the arrival of a plane with passengers from Israel. From October 26 to 29, 2023, mass anti-Semitic actions took place in three republics of the North Caucasus - Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. "Caucasian Knot" has prepared the reports "Anti-Semitic actions in the North Caucasus: how it happened" and "A wave of anti-Semitic actions in the North Caucasus".