Chechen Prime Minister banned from entering US over torture allegations

The US State Department has banned head of the Chechen government Muslim Khuchiev and his wife Sapiyat Shabazova from entering the country, according to the department's website.

The State Department believes that Khuchiev is involved in a gross violation of human rights. “The department has reliable information that Muslim Khuchiev was involved in torture,” the department said in a statement.

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 the mayor of Grozny in 2007-2012 and 2015-2018.
• In July 2017, the former head of the Chechen municipal enterprise Teplosnabzhenie, Lom-Ali Elbiev, claimed that Muslim Khuchiev's guards tortured him with electric shocks. After the incident, Elbiev left for Europe.
• Earlier, human rights organizations and the media reported on torture in Chechnya, which were subjected to homosexuals and suspected drug users. The Chechen authorities denied this.