Russia convicts dozens for anti-Israel riots at Dagestan airport two years ago

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MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian courts sentenced 135 people to lengthy prison sentences in connection with a mass anti-Israel protest in October 2023 at an airport in the predominantly Muslim Dagestan region, the country’s Investigative Committee said on Friday.

Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters stormed an airport in the city of Makhachkala, where a plane from Tel Aviv had just arrived, in unrest in the North Caucasus over Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

Investigators said they had collected evidence against 142 people and completed probes into the participation of 139.

The three other people – whom investigators said had organised the riots via posts on a Telegram channel – have been put on Russia’s wanted list.

The 135 convicted people were given prison terms ranging from 6-1/2 to 15 years for participating in mass riots and other crimes. Investigators did not name the people, nor say how they pleaded.

Video footage at the time showed the protesters, mostly young men, waving Palestinian flags, breaking down glass doors and running through the airport shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greater).

More than 20 people were injured before security forces could contain the unrest. No passengers on the plane were hurt.

President Vladimir Putin blamed the West and Ukraine for the unrest, without providing evidence. Kyiv denied any role and the United States strongly condemned the violence.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Sharon Singleton)