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Up to 90 Dagestan Residents Could Have Been Imprisoned Over Anti-Israeli Riot – Mediazona

The entrance to the terminal building at the Makhachkala Airport. Valery Sharifulin / TASS

As many as 90 residents of Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan could have been jailed following the anti-Israeli riot at Makhachkala International Airport, according to an analysis of court records by the independent Mediazona news website. 

A mob of about 1,200 locals stormed Makhachkala’s airport on Oct. 29, seeking to find and attack Jews and Israelis rumored to have arrived on a flight from Tel Aviv. 

More than 20 people were reportedly injured during the riot that Russian authorities were quick to blame on local Telegram channels with alleged links to Kyiv.

At least 44 appeals against arrest rulings have been registered by Dagestan’s Supreme Court since the violence took place, according to public records. 

But after analyzing registration numbers of publicly available cases, Mediazona journalists concluded that the total number of arrest requests considered by Makhachkala’s Sovietsky District Court could stand at 91. 

Both Makhachkala’s Sovietsky District Court and the republic’s Supreme Court have neither confirmed nor denied the information.

A separate analysis conducted by Mediazona last week said that more than 400 people have faced administrative penalties over their participation in the riot.

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