19 October 2023
Several people protesting in support of Palestine in the Russian republic of Daghestan have reportedly been detained and given military summonses.
Footage and images posted on local Telegram channels on Tuesday showed several dozen men gathered on the central square of the Daghestani capital, Makhachkala. Footage showed police confronting protesters, some of whom were detained. Local Telegram channels reported that all were soon released.
However, Daghestani newspaper Novoye Delo reported that some of the detained protesters of military age were given summonses to the military registration and enlistment office.
The Makhachkala mayor’s office had warned the day prior to the protest was unsanctioned, and could ‘provoke unrest and tension’.
In contrast, in neighbouring Chechnya, officials were quick to express support for Palestine, encouraging the public to do the same.
On 9 October, Ramzan Kadyrov recorded a video message expressing his support for Palestine, and declaring his readiness to send ‘peacekeepers from Chechnya’ to assist after reports spread that a rocket had hit the Akhmat Kadyrov mosque in Abu Ghosh, near Jerusalem. Local residents have denied the reports.
‘I call on all Muslims […] and our state to support the truth and stop this war or send us there as peacekeepers’, said Kadyrov. ‘We will stop those who are wrong, we will determine who is right and stop those who continue to fight.’
He later announced that collective prayers for Palestine and for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine would take place in mosques around Chechnya.
‘Muslims of the Chechen Republic are observing the tragic events in the Gaza Strip with deep pain and regret. We also sincerely empathise with our soldiers in Ukraine and believe in their victory in the fight against the minions of the devil. Therefore, Muslims of the Chechen Republic decided to regularly gather for collective Tahajjud in all mosques of populated areas’, wrote Kadyrov.
In Ingushetia, a Palestinian flag was briefly hung on the Tower of Concorde, a replica Vainakh tower opposite the government building in Magas. The flag was removed shortly thereafter, with local authorities reportedly claiming it was taken down by the people who raised it.
