The Supreme Court of Dagestan sentenced three people in absentia to lengthy prison terms (ranging from 15 to 19 years in a maximum-security prison) for organizing mass riots at Uytash Airport in Makhachkala in October 2023.
The defendants, who are on the international wanted list, are former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev (designated a foreign agent and extremist), Islamic preacher Abu Umar Sasitlinsky (Israil Akhmednabiyev), and Abakar Abakarov, administrator of the "Utro Dagestan" Telegram channel. Despite previous reports of Abakarov's death in Turkey, the court confirmed that all three are wanted.
According to investigators, the defendants spread false information about the arrival of a flight from Tel Aviv, which triggered a wave of unrest at the airport. The overnight clashes, which involved approximately 1,500 people, resulted in damages exceeding 24 million rubles, and the flight's passengers had to be evacuated. More than 130 participants in the riots have already been convicted.
