‘Nobody will evade accountability’

Dagestan governor blames ‘traitors and Banderites’ after anti-Semitic riot leaves 20 injured and 60 in custody

Update: Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency announced that the Makhachkala airport is resuming operations as of 2:00 p.m. Moscow time on Monday. However, flights operated by the airlines Red Wings and Azimuth from Tel Aviv to Makhachkala and the town of Mineralnye Vody will temporarily be rerouted to different Russian cities.

The Makhachkala airport in Russia’s Republic of Dagestan, which hundreds of people stormed on Sunday evening in search of “refugees from Israel,” is “under the full control of law enforcement,” the Russian Interior Ministry’s directorate for the North Caucasus Federal District reported on Monday. “The disorder has been stopped,” the agency said.

Dagestani law enforcement agencies arrested 60 people who took part in the unrest at the Makhachkala airport. According to the Interior Ministry, the detainees were “taken to local police departments for further proceedings.” On Monday morning, the police reported that “more than 150 active participants in the disorder” had been identified. According to the Telegram channel Baza, approximately 1,500 people participated in the riot.

The Russian Investigative Committee’s Dagestan branch opened a criminal case for “mass unrest” in connection with the riot on Sunday. The charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison under Russian law. It’s unclear whether the 60 detainees will be prosecuted as part of this case.

“No one will be forgiven,” Dagestan Governor Sergey Melikov said of the rioters on Monday morning. “Video and photo evidence was collected, so nobody will evade accountability,” he told journalists.

Nine police officers were injured during Sunday’s unrest. The Interior Ministry’s North Caucasus directorate reported that two of the officers have been hospitalized. According to the Telegram channel Baza, about 500 police were sent to the airport from the cities of Makhachkala, Kaspiysk, Buynaksk, Izberbash, and Derbent. One of the injured officers was regiment commander Anver Mallakurbanov, who sustained a head injury. A total of 20 people were reportedly injured during the unrest.

None of the passengers of the flight from Tel Aviv to Makhachkala appear to have been harmed. Little else has been reported about the passengers. According to multiple Telegram channels, one of the passengers was a child from Dagestan who had gone to Israel for medical treatment. The Telegram channel Baza reported that there were only four people with Israeli citizenship on the flight.

The Makhachkala airport has not resumed operations. According to Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, the airport is tentatively set to begin receiving flights on October 31 at 3:00 a.m. Moscow time. “The airport will only reopen after a thorough inspection by law enforcement agencies of the terminal, the aerodrome, and the surrounding area,” the agency said in a statement. The agency had previously reported that the airport would remain closed until November 6.

Dagestan Governor Sergey Melikov said Monday morning that the airport’s navigation equipment, air traffic control services, and other flight safety equipment were not damaged in the riot. Until the airport resumes operations, the governor said, “flights will be redirected to alternative airports.”

Dagestan’s leader blamed outside “enemies” for organizing the unrest at the Makhachkala airport. “It’s no longer a secret to anyone that the attempts to destabilize the situation in Dagestan and create a protest environment, including the use of banned tactics related to the stoking of interethnic hatred and interfaith issues, are being carried out by our enemies,” Melikov said. He added that the Telegram channel Dagestan Morning, which posted messages about “refugees from Israel,” is run by “traitors and Banderites” from Ukrainian territory. Dagestan Morning was launched by former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, who left Russia in 2014 and gained Ukrainian citizenship in 2019. According to the former lawmaker, however, he has had no connection with the channel for over a year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s Foreign Ministry have called on the Russian authorities to ensure the safety of Israelis. A statement from Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister expects Russia to “act decisively against the rioters and against incitement to violence against Jews and Israelis.”