The US State Department has banned Muslim Khuchiev and his wife Sapiyat Shabazova from entering the country, the head of the Chechen government, according to the Ministry’s website.
The State Department believes that Khuchiev was involved in a gross violation of human rights. “The department has reliable information that Muslim Khuchiev was involved in torture,” the ministry’s statement said.
The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, called the decision of the State Department “a humorous number” and advised the US authorities to “live with us in peace and harmony.”
Muslim Khuchiev headed the government of Chechnya in June 2018. Prior to that, he was mayor of Grozny in 2007-2012 and 2015-2018.
In July 2017, the former head of the Chechen municipal enterprise “Heat Supply” Lom-Ali Elbiyev said that the guards of Muslim Khuchiev were tortured with a stun gun. After the incident, Elbiev left for Europe.
Earlier, human rights organizations and the media reported on torture in Chechnya, which homosexuals and suspected drug users were subjected to. Chechen authorities denied this.
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