Criminal case for possession of explosives initiated against Dagestan activist

Police detained blogger and sports commentator Ramazan Rabadanov in Makhachkala on November 6, just before he was due to attend court hearings regarding the mass unrest at Makhachkala airport. He had been advocating for the rights of defendants involved in the riots.

Rabadanov now faces criminal charges for illegal possession of explosives, and his apartment has been searched.

Following a personal search, a revolver with ammunition and a hand grenade were reportedly confiscated from the 63-year-old blogger, according to the media outlet Sapa, citing a source.

Rabadanov managed to inform his family that on November 6, "someone approached him and slipped a grenade into his coat." His relatives believe that his detention is linked to his human rights work.

Anti-Israel protests erupted in Dagestan in the autumn of 2023 amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Hundreds of Dagestan residents surrounded an aircraft arriving from Israel and inspected vehicles for Jewish passengers.

The Investigative Committee has initiated over 80 criminal cases related to the unrest, and police have issued administrative reports for 900 individuals. Dagestan lawyer Karim Abdurazakov asserted that dozens of those detained at the airport had not participated in the protests. In August, some individuals involved in the mass unrest case received sentences of 6 to 9 years in a penal colony.

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