Administrator of Morning of Dagestan Telegram Channel Found Dead: Disrupted Mobilization in the Caucasus and Incited Protests

Abakari Abakarov, the administrator of the Morning of Dagestan Telegram channel, who is believed to have coordinated anti-mobilization protests in Russia in 2022, was found dead in Istanbul.

Caucasian Knot reported on this.

According to the media, the body of an unnamed man covered in blood was found in Istanbul, at a villa in the Eyüpsultan district, which was rented out on a daily basis.

According to the police, the house was rented out on October 6, and the next day, two men entered it, including the deceased. The second man later left the house carrying two bags.

According to an anonymous source from RBC, Abakarov died from stab wounds. The source also said that, according to one version, he may have been killed because of “gathering information for his media resource.”

A source from the Caucasian Knot shared that Abakarov’s death was reported on the evening of October 17, and that two to three days prior, he had traveled to Istanbul from Yalova, after which contact with him was lost.

“It was reported that the police might have detained him, but later he was found murdered. We do not know any other details yet,” the source told Caucasian Knot. The source added that Abakarov had previously received death threats.

In Russia, Abakarov is accused of coordinating anti-mobilization protests in September 2022. The protests in Makhachkala lasted from September 22 to 30, 2022, and were eventually suppressed by Russian police and the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. Overall, nearly 2,500 protesters were detained across Russia by October 2022.

Abakarov is also accused of organizing an anti-Semitic pogrom at Makhachkala airport in 2023. During the riots, about 20 people were injured, over 200 were detained, and the airport building was vandalized. More than 130 participants in the unrest were convicted.

In mid-October, it was announced that the Russian Ministry of Defense wants to allow the use of reservists without declaring martial law. A government commission has already supported the relevant bill.

The proposal is to involve reservists in carrying out tasks in the event of war, counter-terrorist operations, or the deployment of the military outside Russia.

The law will introduce a new concept – “special gatherings.” These will be attended only by reservists, separately from training and verification gatherings. Presumably, Russia plans to deploy them in the war against Ukraine.