Four rioters who participated in the 2023 anti-Israeli pogrom at the airport in Dagestan were sentenced to a decade in prison, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (SKR) announced on Friday.
Marat Rabadanov, Radzhab Radzhabov, Magomed Ramazanov, and Zaurbeg Khalikov were found guilty of participating in violent mass riots, pogroms, destruction of property, use of objects that posed a danger to others, and violation of transport security requirements when they stormed Makhachkala Uytash International Airport with hundreds of others seeking Israeli travelers.
Russian investigators said that on October 29, 2023, Ilya Ponomarev, Abakar Abakarov, and Israil Akhmednabiyev incited hatred and violence against Israelis and encouraged people to organize and participate in a riot in the area.
A Red Wings flight from Tel Aviv had landed at the airport that day.
The next day, four suspects joined others motivated by what Russian authorities said was a conspiracy to storm the airport. They caused 24 million rubles ($232,000) in damage and wounded 23 airport officials and law enforcement officers in the process.
Anti-Israeli protesters turn violent in days following October 7 attacks
Eyewitnesses filmed videos that showed rioters waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Allahu akbar
,” destroying a glass barrier, and overturning a patrol vehicle.
A group of Jewish travelers were hidden within the airport complex until authorities could reestablish control over the facility.
The SKR has collected evidence regarding the involvement of 142 individuals in the riots, completing preliminary investigations of 135 suspects within them.
Twenty-eight criminal cases have been filed to the court. In seven cases, 38 defendants have been found guilty and sentenced for their involvement.
Back in August, five men were sentenced to six to nine years in jail for their role in the pogrom, one of whom was also convicted of violence against a government official.
Seven suspects have been declared wanted, said the SKR, three of whom are the organizers of the pogrom.
The riot occurred only weeks after Hamas’s massacre of October 7, 2023, and the military’s ensuing response.
Zvika Klein contributed to this report.