A court in southern Russia on Wednesday sentenced four men to 10 years in prison each for participating in an anti-Israeli riot at an airport in the republic of Dagestan more than a year ago.
The men were among the roughly 1,200 people who stormed Makhachkala International Airport on Oct. 29, 2023, following rumors on social media that a flight arriving from Tel Aviv was carrying Jewish and Israeli passengers.
Authorities jailed at least 105 people after the riot, which erupted amid anger in Russia’s North Caucasus region over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
The four men — Arsen Arbuliyev, Malik Aliyev, Saidpandi Abdulazizov and Nazhmudin Abakarov — were found guilty of participating in mass riots and violating transportation safety rules, the Stavropol regional prosecutor’s office said.
The Mineralovodsky City Court handed each of them a 10-year sentence to be served at a medium-security prison, citing the “nature and degree of public danger” of their actions.
Officials did not specify the defendants’ individual roles in the unrest but said the riot caused more than 24 million rubles ($286,000) in damages and injured 23 law enforcement officials.
The trials were moved from Dagestan to courts in the nearby Stavropol and Krasnodar regions due to the case’s sensitivity.
Authorities have issued arrest warrants for seven more alleged rioters, including three accused of organizing the attack, according to the Interfax news agency.
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