An Israeli-Belarusian passenger picked up a Muslim child and threw him to the ground.
The child, who is believed to be Afghan, and his family had fled Iran due to the fighting.
Iran’s ambassador to Russia said the child was from Afghanistan.
The child, whose identity has not been released, suffered serious injuries and is currently in a coma.
The suspect, Vladimir Vitkov, 31, a dual Belarusian-Israeli citizen, has been identified. He has since been arrested. When questioned by Russian police, he “could not explain” why he attacked the child. Russian authorities are investigating the attack as a racially motivated hate crime.
