The riots at Makhachkala airport were preceded by a protest

Three people greeted a flight from Israel at Makhachkala Airport 17 days before the October 2023 mass riots, carrying Palestinian flags. Administrative protocols were drawn up against them, according to the airport's former director.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," three alleged organizers of the pogrom—Ilya Ponomarev*, Abakar Abakarov, and Israil Akhmednabiyev (Abu Umar Sasitlinsky)—were placed on the wanted list in connection with the riots at Makhachkala's Uytash Airport. According to the Investigative Committee, they published posts on Telegram that inspired residents of Dagestan to participate in mass riots motivated by hatred toward Israel. In July 2025, the cases of all three were submitted to the Supreme Court of Dagestan for trial in absentia. Participants in the 2023 riots at Makhachkala's Uytash Airport attempted to disarm security forces and threw stones at them, according to witness testimony read out in court in November 2025. Abakarov was killed in Turkey in October 2025, after which the court sent a request to Turkey to confirm his death.

A protest against the arrival of passengers from Israel was held at Makhachkala Airport with the participation of three people 17 days before the mass riots on October 29, 2023. There were no conflicts at the time, former airport general director Said Ramazanov reported in his testimony.

The testimony was read at a hearing in the Supreme Court of Dagestan, where the criminal cases against three organizers of the mass riots at Makhachkala Airport are continuing in absentia, RIA reports. "News."

"The first information that a group of young people with Palestinian flags had entered the airport grounds was received by me on October 12, 2023, from the head of the transport security unit. There were about three people holding two flags. These citizens were meeting a flight from Israel. The young people behaved politely, and there were no conflicts. I reported this to the head of the linear transport police department, and he replied that he was aware of this and that they were taking appropriate measures," said Ramazanov, who headed the airport at the time.

According to him, a few days later he learned that police officers had detained the young people who were meeting the flight from Israel with Palestinian flags and had drawn up administrative reports against them.

At the next hearing, the prosecutor read the testimony of about 10 witnesses.

More than 130 people were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6.5 to 15 years. Among the most recently convicted was Dagestani resident Bakhtiyar Radzhabov, whose case was heard by the Georgievsk City Court; he was sentenced to seven years in prison. Radzhabov became at least the 136th person convicted for participating in the pogrom; investigators had previously stated that the cases of 139 defendants had been referred to the courts (excluding three who were wanted).

In September 2025, the Fourth Cassation Court in Krasnodar commuted the sentences of three defendants in the criminal case related to the riots - Salikh Ramazanov, Magomed Omaraskhabov, and Rabadan Radzhabov had their prison terms reduced.

* are listed as foreign agents.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.