The Stavropol Regional Court has handed down another verdict in the case concerning the mass antisemitic riot at Makhachkala’s Uytash Airport in 2023, convicting the only woman charged in the case.
Patimat Sharudinova was found guilty of organising the unrest and violating transport security regulations. She was sentenced to 11 years in a general-regime penal colony.
Three other Daghestani residents — Devlethan Ramazanov, Gadji Imanmurzaev, and Asker Budaykhanov — were convicted alongside her. All four received prison terms ranging from 11 to 11 years and 6 months, as announced by the Stavropol Region Prosecutor’s Office via its official Telegram channel.
According to investigators, on 29 October 2023, the four were present at the airport where mass unrest broke out. Authorities claimed their actions were motivated by ‘national and religious hatred’ following the arrival of a flight from Tel Aviv. The defendants were accused of refusing to comply with lawful police orders and of participating in acts involving violence and property damage.
Sharudinova’s specific actions are not detailed in official reports. In November 2023, her then-lawyer Aza Alieva published a video on social media showing Sharudinova in a crowd holding a Palestinian flag and shouting, ‘Don’t be afraid of the guards’.
Shamil Khadulaev, head of Daghestan’s Public Monitoring Commission, told Russian independent media outlet Caucasian Knot that the case was significant because the defendants were charged not only with participation but also with organising the unrest. He pointed to video footage of Imanmurzaev calling for calm, which investigators reportedly interpreted as incitement.
Arsen Magomedov, a former member of Daghestan’s Public Chamber, said that, to his knowledge, Sharudinova did not engage in violent acts and only waved a flag. He added that she is a person with a disability and the mother of a minor child.
According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, 28 verdicts have been issued in connection with the Makhachkala airport case, covering 135 individuals. All were found guilty of participation or organisation of mass unrest, and received prison terms ranging from 6.5 to 15 years.
The Investigative Committee also reported that three individuals — Ilya Ponomaryov, Abakar Abakarov, and Israil Akhmednabiev — have been declared wanted. They are charged under incitement of hatred or enmity and financing extremist activity. According to investigators, they used the Telegram channel Utro Daghestana (‘Morning of Daghestan’) to spread information about the Tel Aviv flight, which allegedly triggered the unrest.
Tata Shoshiashvili
