The U.S. Treasury Department announced today that Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman president of the Russian federal republic of Chechnya, has been targeted for sanctions under the Magnitsky Act.

The Treasury accused Kadyrov, 41, of “being responsible for extrajudicial killing, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights…”

“As the head of the Chechen Republic, Kadyrov oversees an administration involved in disappearances and extra-judicial killings,” the announcement said.

It also alleged that Kadyrov, who was appointed Chechnya’s leader by Russian President Vladimir Putin a decade ago, likely had directed the murder of a “political opponent” who had made “allegations of torture and ill-treatment taking place in Chechnya, including alleged torture carried out by Kadyrov personally.”

 

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Featured image courtesy of AP