A court in southern Russia has sentenced five men to more than six years in prison for their alleged involvement in last year’s mass anti-Israel protest at an airport in Dagestan, a region predominantly Muslim.
The men, between the ages of 20 and 35 were sent to prison for between over six years to nine years for engaging in rioting. One of the defendants was reportedly also found guilty of committing violence against a government official, Al Jazeera reported.
As per the reports, the unrest took place in October 2023 when hundreds of protesters stormed Makhachkala International Airport shortly after a flight from Israel’s Tel Aviv had arrived.
The mob consisting mainly of youngsters waved Palestinian flags, broke the glass doors, and rushed through the airport shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is greater).
The protest began with a message sent through a local Telegram channel that urged Dagestan people to send ‘uninvited guests’ back ‘in a proper grown-up manner’ forcing Israeli plane to turn back and refrain from landing.
The channel which was later blocked by Telegram called the passengers ‘unclean’, without directly typing the word ‘Jew’.
The violence in the airport saw more than 20 people injured before security forces were able to restore order but none of the passengers on the plane were affected. Subsequently, police detained dozens of people and these cases are still being prosecuted in Russia.
The trial was transferred from Dagestan to Krasnodar due to the sensitivity of the case. President Vladimir Putin blamed the West and Ukraine for the unrest, while Kyiv and the United States denied any role.
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