Tajik Rappers' Moscow Concert Disrupted After Gas Incident

MOSCOW -- Hundreds of fans of popular Tajik rappers Master Ismail and Bakh-84 have had to leave a concert in Moscow after an unidentified gas was released inside the Moscow Hall concert arena.

A Moscow Hall spokesman, Nikolai Sviridenko, told RFE/RL on November 11 that the November 10 concert was disrupted by what he called an "unpleasant incident" that took place after one fan argued with the venue's ticket takers.

No one was injured.

Sviridenko refused to identify the man who sprayed the irritant, saying that investigations were under way.

He said, however, that the incident had "neither a political nor an ethnic agenda."

Moscow police officials told RFE/RL that they were looking into the situation.

Tajikistan's ambassador to Russia, Abdumajid Dostiev, told RFE/RL that the embassy will issue an official statement on the incident soon.