North Ossetia: LDPR member apologizes for attacking "Yabloko" branch leader

On March 13, after the TV debate on the "Alania" GTRK (State TV and Radio Company), Soslan Bestaev, an authorized representative of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, attacked Badri Gazzati, an authorized representative of Grigory Yavlinsky and the chair of the local branch of the "Yabloko" Party, the press service of the "Yabloko" Party reported on the same day.

According to the report, a dispute between the politicians began during the debate. "Soslan Bestaev began to threaten Badri Gazzati, and in response, he called Soslan Bestaev 'a worthy son of Zhirinovsky.' That remark apparently offended Soslan Bestaev. After the TV debate, he unexpectedly attacked Badri Gazzati as he walked to his car and struck him several times with his fists," reports the press release, posted on the website of the "Yabloko" Party.

According to the report, Badri Gazzati filed a complaint to the police, and medical experts confirmed the signs of beatings.

In the evening on March 13, Soslan Bestaev, a coordinator of the North-Ossetian branch of the LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia), posted on his Facebook page a video message, in which he outlined his version of the incident.

"My dispute with Badri Gazzati moved from the political sphere to a personal confrontation ... I really could not help myself after repeated attacks made by Mr. Gazzati, who several times called our Alan ancestors 'savages' and then started to voice personal insults," stated Soslan Bestaev.

The politician also apologized to "voters and all the people who watched that unpleasant incident."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.