The US Department of the Treasury has added to its sanctions list a number of individuals and legal entities from the Russian Federation related to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, whom the US authorities believe to be involved in "serious human rights violations."
Kadyrov himself, against whom Washington has previously imposed some restrictive measures, was added to the list of sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act. "Kadyrov is added to the sanctions list <...> as a foreign person who is the leader of the Kadyrovtsy organization, it or its members are involved in serious human rights violations. Kadyrov and forces under his command, known as the Kadyrovtsy, were involved in the murder of Boris Nemtsov," the Treasury Department said. According to US authorities, the Kadyrovtsy are also allegedly involved in "the abduction, torture, and murder of members of the LGBT community in Chechnya."
Sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act are also being imposed on the Akhmat football club, the Akhmat Absolute Championship organization, the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation, Megastroyinvest LLC, the Akhmat mixed martial arts club and the Chechen Mineral Waters Company. The US Treasury Department believes that all these legal entities belong to or are controlled by the head of Chechnya.
The list of individuals included Vakhit Usmaev, the Deputy Chairman of the Chechen government; Chechen athlete Timur Dugazaev, who lives in Germany; Daniil Martynov, the aide to the Chechen president; Ziyad Sabsabi, the former Chechen senator and former MENA representative of Kadyrov; and Satish Simar, a UAE national whom the Treasury Department calls "Kadyrov's horse trainer". Being put on the sanctions list means the freezing of assets in the United States and a ban on any business with those on the list.
Kadyrov called the new US sanctions absurd and shameful. He also said that they did not affect the development of the republic.
"Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act was adopted in the US in 2012. It provides for the use of unilateral US sanctions against Russian officials who, according to US authorities, are guilty of violating human rights in their homeland. Restrictions under this law were imposed against Kadyrov in 2017. In 2016, the US adopted the "Magnitsky Global Human Rights Act," which provides for the possibility of extending the "Magnitsky Act" to other countries, not just Russia.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS