The editor-in-chief of the Daghestani news agency RIA Derbent, Milrad Fatullayev, has filed complaints with law enforcement agencies over several fake posts appearing under his outlet’s name claiming that Israelis from Tel Aviv were being relocated to the republic.
Fatullayev addressed the Investigative Committee of Russia, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Russia’s Communications Service.
The posts being published under RIA Derbent’s name have claimed that more than 500 Orthodox Jewish families from Tel Aviv were allegedly preparing to relocate to Daghestan. It additionally claimed that they were planned to be accommodated in modular buildings in Derbent, which would be financed by Daghestani Senator Suleiman Kerimov.
Fatullaev said that such messages had never been published on the outlet’s platforms. He asked that a procedural check be carried out and that those responsible for distributing the messages be identified.
The statement notes that similar incidents have occurred before. In the autumn of 2025, false information was also being shared under RIA Derbent’s name claiming that searches had been carried out at the home of the Mufti of Daghestan and that his son had allegedly fled the republic. The authorities did not conduct an investigation into that case and those responsible for the posts were not identified.
In the appeal, Fatullaev said that he views such publications as information provocations aimed at destabilising the situation in the region and that they may have consequences for interethnic and interfaith relations. He asked law enforcement agencies to conduct checks regarding the dissemination of false information in autumn 2025 and in March.
The statement says that, in the opinion of the applicant, the actions of unidentified persons may contain elements of several offences under the Russian criminal code, including incitement to hatred, disinformation, and the obstruction of public events.
The statement also notes that similar rumours have previously led to tensions, referring to the events of 29 October 2023 at Makhachkala Airport, when mass unrest broke out after reports appeared on social media about the alleged arrival of a flight carrying refugees from Israel. Participants in the unrest entered the airport grounds and the runway.
Before the events at Makhachkala airport, a rally was also held near the Flamingo Hotel in the city of Khasavyurt. Participants in the gathering checked hotel guests, attempting to find people they described as ‘resembling citizens of Israel’. During the same period, a fire was reported at a construction site of a Jewish cultural centre in Nalchik.
The antisemitic riots at Makhachkala airport had been ‘supervised from abroad by pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels’, Russian officials claimed, including Daghestani Head Sergei Melikov, who stated that the Morning Daghestan (Utro Daghestana) channel was operating out of Ukraine. Melikov claimed that Ilya Ponomarev, a former Russian MP who defected to Ukraine in 2016 and finances the channel, was responsible for the riots.
In his appeal, Fatullaev asked law enforcement authorities to identify the authors of the posts. He also asked that their actions be given a legal assessment and that the public be informed about the results of the investigation through official communication channels.
As of publication, there has been no official information about investigations into the case by law enforcement authorities.
Tata Shoshiashvili
