Makhachkala airport rioters to be sent to special military operation zone in Ukraine

Those who took part in the recent riots at the airport of Makhachkala, the Republic of Dagestan, “will be able to express their spirit and hatred of the enemy by taking part in the special military operation. They will be able to go to the zone of hostilities in Ukraine instead of serving prison sentences from five to eight years for staging mass riots, a source close to the investigation into the Makhachkala airport riots told MiltaryTimes.

Representatives for the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Dagestan said that at the very beginning of the investigation, security forces detained 83 riot participants and conducted more than 50 searches. Smartphones with correspondence and computer equipment containing evidence of participation in the riots were confiscated.

To bring the rioters to justice, law enforcers analyse their phone calls, text messages, photos and videos in their smartphones. 

It is worthy of note that a number of social media channels and even mass media outlets called the rioters “stormtroopers” for how they “stormed" the airport.

“There is no need to call them stormtroopers. They will become stormtroopers in a detachment that will be breaking through strongest fortifications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For now, this is a shame! Even the elders ask they be sent to the front instead of prisons,” a law enforcement officer said. 

"Popular and traditional for the republic comments on social media like “people were carried away by their emotions" will not help - everyone will answer strictly, and there is no place for emotions when it comes to law. Those who want to fight for truth and justice <...> they are now fighting at the front - near Donetsk, Avdeevka, the Dnieper. The choice of a real man, a real warrior is to take up arms and <...> be in places where decisions are made <... > including of the future of the Palestinian people,” Vladimir Putin said at a meeting devoted to the events in Dagestan.

The head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, also said that the participants in the riots can “clear their names by taking part in the special military operation, the MK said.

“First of all, we must not allow, even at the information level, the feeling that participation in the special military operation is a punishment. The special operation is being conducted to defend Russia’s interests. This has always been a patriotic, noble and honourable job for a man,” political scientist Andrey Gusiy told Pravda.Ru.

“A convicted person can go to the zone of hostilities after the trial (two laws were passed in Russia to enable prisoners to undergo contract-based military service and be exempt from criminal liability). At the same time, all legal requirements should be met - investigation, trial and verdict," the expert explained.

“In Dagestan, many succumbed to provocations, but this does not absolve them of responsibility. In the Caucasus, participation in such pogroms is often regarded by many as disgrace. If a person wants atonement to improve his reputation before the republic, before Russia, then the decision to join the Russian troops for the special operation would be the right decision to make," he added.

The damage that was caused to the airport of Makhachkala as a result of the riots on October 29 was evaluated at least 285 million rubles (over $3 million), State Duma deputy Abakarov said. 

The Supreme Court of Dagestan arrested seven participants in the riots at the Makhachkala airport. They were found guilty of petty hooliganism involving disobedience to the police (Part 2 of Article 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), one of the detainees was arrested for ten days, the rest - for six days.