A Russian court has handed lengthy prison sentences to five men convicted of participating in an allegedly anti-Jewish riot in the Muslim-majority region of Dagestan last year.
The beginning of Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza had sparked a wave of anti-Semitic incidents in the Muslim-majority republics of Russia’s North Caucasus, where local politicians and celebrities often speak out in solidarity with the Palestinians.
On October 29, a large mob chanting anti-Semitic slogans broke through the security perimeter of the Makhachkala International Airport and ran onto the tarmac. It was later determined that the rioters had believed rumors on Telegram and social media that a plane arriving from Tel Aviv was carrying “Jewish refugees.”
The rioters clashed with security guards and police, paralyzed operations at the airport and caused extensive damage to the facility. However, they failed to enter any aircraft or injure any passengers.
On Friday, a court in the southern city of Armavir sentenced the men to between six and nine years in prison for rioting and assaulting officials. According to the court, they were motivated by “national and religious hatred” when they joined the mob. All of the defendants had denied any wrongdoing.
Some officials had suggested that the riot may have been incited from abroad. In November, President Vladimir Putin accused the US and Ukraine of “attempting to organize Jewish pogroms.”
The leadership of Dagestan and local Muslim clerics condemned the violence, with Governor Sergey Melikov vowing “no forgiveness” for those involved in the storming of the airport.
Dagestan’s interior minister, Abdurashid Magomedov, said in July that 140 people remained in custody in connection with the riots, while 1,200 people had received administrative penalties.