Head of Chechnya responds to US sanctions with two machine guns
Head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, along with his wife and two daughters, have been put on the US “blacklist” for massive violations of human rights.
Kadyrov, in response, posted a photo with two machine guns on Instagram and said that he “accepts the fight.”
“The Department has extensive credible information that Kadyrov is responsible for numerous gross violations of human rights dating back more than a decade, including torture and extrajudicial killings,” said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a July 20 statement.
The United States has also called on countries that share the same views on Kadyrov to join in their decision.
• Who is killing Chechen critics of Kadyrov in Europe?
• Extrajudicial executions in Chechnya
The document emphasizes that restrictive measures also apply to Kadyrov’s wife Medni Kadyrova and his daughters Aishat Kadyrova and Karina (aka Khadizhat) Kadyrova.
Ramzan Kadyrov was already on the sanctions list of the US Treasury Department, which prohibited him from conducting economic activities in the US and prohibited American companies from working with him.
The Kadyrovs are now banned from entering the States.
Counterattack from Moscow and Kadyrov
The head of Chechnya, in response, ridiculed Pompeo. On his Telegram channel, he posted a photo of himself in a room full of weapons holding two machine guns.
He captioned the photo saying that he “accepts the fight,” and that “what happens next should be interesting,” as well as several emojis.
Moscow also considered this situation serious enough to interfere.
The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page:
“It will be difficult to find a proportional response, but we will think of something.”
Accusations against Kadyrov
Russian and international media sources regularly publish materials about Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in a series of crimes.
Here is a brief summary of the accusations:
• Abducting, torturing and murdering people within the territory of Chechnya
• Harassing and murdering LGBT people within the republic
• Murdering human rights activist Natalya Estemirova in Grozny
• Murdering journalist Anna Politkovskaya and politician Boris Nemtsov
• Murdering opponents among Chechen emigrants in Europe
• Running a racket of Chechen entrepreneurs in Russia.
Russia has not yet investigated any of these charges.
