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Damage done to Dagestani airport estimated at $3 mln — lawmaker

According to Khizry Abakarov, the rioters, in addition to being prosecuted for the seizure of a strategic site, must compensate financial damages

MAKHACHKALA, October 31. /TASS/. The damage done to the Makhachkala airport as a result of the recent riots has reached 285 million rubles ($3 million), and this number continues to climb, said Khizry Abakarov, a Russian State Duma lawmaker representing the region.

"How much money and effort has been spent on the construction and reconstruction of the entire airport terminal compound at the Makhachkala airport. These are funds that were primarily aimed at making it convenient for Dagestanis to fly to Hajj, at developing tourism, and at making it possible for Dagestanis to earn more money. We have invited expert appraisers who are calculating how much damage all this destruction did. Today, the value of the damage has already reached 285 million rubles, and counting," he said on Telegram.

According to the lawmaker, the rioters, in addition to being prosecuted for the seizure of a strategic site, must compensate financial damages.

"We are also putting them on the airport’s blacklist. They will not be served <...> until all the damages are compensated. No one is allowed to ruin, break someone else's property with impunity," Abakarov said.

Mass riots took place at the Makhachkala airport on October 29 due to the arrival of a regular flight from Tel Aviv amid the escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Several hundred people entered the airport building and the airfield and stayed there before they were forced to leave by law enforcement officers. According to the latest data, more than 20 people were injured, including police officers, and more than 80 rioters were detained. The Russian aviation agency subsequently announced the closure of the airport for a week, but it was later reported that the airport fully resumed operations on October 30.