Police in Russia's North Ossetia have launched an inquiry following a campaign of online harassment targeting women through the Telegram channel Kavkazskaya Obshchina ("Caucasian Community"). The channel's administrators published women's personal information, insulted them and issued threats of violence over behaviour they claimed violated Caucasian traditions.
Four Dagestani residents were sentenced to 7 to 8 years in the case of the riots at the Makhachkala airport, which took place in October 2023. The total number of defendants exceeded 60 people.
The Stavropol Krai Court found that Kurbanismail Karabekov, Kurban Kurbanov, Shakhban Magomedov and Magomedsaid Murtazaliev took part in mass riots accompanied by violence and destruction of property. They were also found guilty of failure to comply with transport security requirements.
Human rights activists pointed out the bias of the trial: among the defendants there could have been those who did not participate in the storming of the airport. Relatives of many of the defendants said that they considered the sentences too harsh and unfair.
Recall that on October 29, 2023, hundreds of people stormed the Makhachkala airport, trying to find passengers on a transit flight from Tel Aviv. Those gathered were protesting against Israel's actions in Palestine.