The sentence of two people convicted in the "airport case" has been upheld

The appellate court upheld the sentence of Magomedgadzhi Chirgilaev and Yasin Gadzhiev, whom the court, contrary to the testimony of witnesses and defendants, found to be participants in the riots at the Makhachkala airport. Another convict, 18-year-old Shanavaz Elmurzaev, incriminated himself in court, the lawyer said.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, on February 27 the court found Magomedgadzhi Chirgilaev, Yasin Gadzhiev and three other defendants to be participants in the riots at the Makhachkala airport and sentenced them to long terms in a penal colony. Only one of the five defendants admitted guilt, said Chirgilaev and Gadzhiev's lawyer Biysoltan Kaparov, and announced an appeal of the verdict.

The appellate court upheld the sentence of Magomedgadzhi Chirgilaev and Yasin Gadzhiev, lawyer Biysoltan Kaparov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on July 19. "The regional court upheld the sentence," he said.

The lawyer also clarified that Shanavaz Elmurzaev, who only turned 18 during the trial in the Georgievsky City Court, was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Despite the fact that he did nothing, he pleaded guilty

According to the defense, the young man incriminated himself, and the lawyer is going to appeal the sentence. "Despite the fact that he did nothing, he pleaded guilty," Kaparov said.

03:55 23.07.2024

Those accused of the pogrom named their motives for coming to Uytash airport

The accused in the pogrom case, Magomed Omaraskhabov, was at the Makhachkala airport for family reasons, while another defendant, Anvarbek Aliyev, came out of curiosity, the lawyers said.

Recall that at the end of June, the Georgievsky City Court sentenced Shanavaz Elmurzaev, Rizvan Akhmedov, Ata Musaev, Magomed Mukhmaev and Khabib Sheikhov, recognizing them as participants in the riots at the Makhachkala airport. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 7 to 10 years, the prosecutor's office said, without specifying the specific terms for each defendant.

Biysoltan Kaparov said in March that two prosecution witnesses at the trial had not provided any specific information about the actions of the five defendants, including Elmurzaev, and could not identify any of them. "They only spoke in general terms about a crowd that broke into the airport and caused such and such damage. They never said that they saw any of the defendants, including my client, do anything specific," the lawyer said.

By July 18, the courts had handed down 28 sentences to 135 defendants in the "airport case." The defendants received sentences ranging from 6.5 to 15 years in a general regime penal colony.

Mass riots at Makhachkala airport occurred on October 29, 2023, due to a report of the arrival of a plane with passengers from Israel. More than 20 people were injured in the riots, including nine police officers. 1,200 people were brought to administrative responsibility. What happened at Uytash airport and how the investigation is proceeding is described in the "Caucasian Knot" report "Case of the pogrom at Makhachkala airport".