The founder of Telegram, Pável Dúrov, has warned that he will block those channels that instigate violence after the anti-Semitic riots that broke out on Sunday in the Russian North Caucasian republic of Dagestan. Hundreds of people stormed the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, looking for Israelis and Jews on a plane from Tel Aviv. Earlier, a mob demonstrated outside a hotel demanding the expulsion of Israeli guests
"Channels that call for violence (...) will be blocked for violating the rules of Telegram, Google, Apple and the entire civilized world," Durov wrote in a statement addressed to Russian users.
"The persecution of people because of their ethnicity or religion is unacceptable," added Durov, who has been criticized in the past for allowing terrorist groups to use Telegram.
The message includes a comment from the channel 'Dagestan Mornings' that called on Dagestanis to make it clear to Jews that they are not welcome. Subsequently, that channel, which local authorities point out as one of the instigators of the riots at the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the republic, was blocked.
The governor of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, assured that 'Dagestan Mornings' is a channel managed from abroad, specifically from Ukraine. Former Russian deputy Iliá Ponomariov, currently exiled in Ukraine, who at the time helped create this channel, distanced himself from the media today and assured that since autumn of last year he no longer has any relationship with the channel.
Images released by the media showed a mob of hundreds of people inspecting Makhachkala airport screens and cars in search of Jews and Israeli citizens, and even moving along the runways and trying to board a plane from Tel Aviv.
As a result, at least 60 people were arrested and more than twenty were injured, including nine police officers, two in serious condition. According to the head of the Jewish community of Dagestan, the police have had to take over the security of the synagogues.
The Kremlin affirmed this Monday that the anti-Semitic riots were "largely the result of foreign interference" and Foreign Affairs accused Kiev of being behind the alleged provocation. Given the seriousness of the incidents, Russian President Vladimir Putin called an extraordinary meeting of the Government's senior staff, both chambers of Parliament and the secret services.
