The Human Rights Commissioner of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Tamerlan Tsgoev, recalled his request addressed to Abkhazia. It is for the self-proclaimed republic to strip the Chechen field commander Shamil Basayev of all state awards and titles. In the Russian Federation, he is recognized as a terrorist.

Tsgoev noted that he sent the appeal back in the fall of 2024. In it, he asked the then President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, to strip Basayev of all honorary titles. However, after Bzhania's resignation, Badra Gunba was elected president, and the issue with state awards and titles remained unresolved.

"For every resident of Ossetia-Alania, this issue is especially important, since it was Shamil Basayev who took responsibility for organizing the terrible terrorist attack in School No. 1 in the city of Beslan in September 2004," the ombudsman explained.

Last year, a portrait of Shamil Basayev was hung in the state museum of Abkhazia, restored at the expense of the Russian budget. It appeared in the exhibition "Heroes of Abkhazia." Basayev took part in the Georgian-Abkhaz war on the side of the self-proclaimed republic.