An unnamed 14-year-old boy has issued a public apology after making a false report to Daghestan’s 112 emergency response call centre claiming that terrorists were in a Moscow school.
According to Caucasian Knot, citing Daghestan’s Interior Ministry, the rural Botlikh police station received a message regarding the 112 call on Monday. Daghestani security forces then contacted Moscow, after which security forces went to the scene to evacuate students and teachers.
The territory around the school was also inspected using special equipment and a search dog, but no signs of an impending terrorist attack were found.
Shortly after, the security forces in Daghestan established that the caller was a 14-year-old boy who had used a classmate’s phone and called 112 as a joke, after which the boy was detained.
The following day, Daghestan’s Interior Ministry published a video in which the boy apologised for his actions, advising others not to call 112 as a joke. The video also showed the boy’s father, who called on parents to ‘control their children’.
It is unclear whether the boy or his parents will face any criminal charges.
Previously, in June 2024, a court in Daghestani capital Makhachkala found Magomed Malikov guilty of hooliganism for jokingly telling passersby that a mass shooting was being prepared, leading to the deployment of police to University Square. He was sentenced to three days in prison.
The practice of public apologies first emerged in Chechnya, but has since become widespread in the neighbouring republics and other parts of Russia.
It is often used by the authorities as an instrument of pressure on society, whereby residents of the region realise that missteps can lead to public humiliation, which contributes to self-censorship and suppression of freedom of speech.
Nate Ostiller
