Who Is Ramzan Kadyrov? Chechen Leader Banned From Facebook As Part Of US Sanctions

Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of the Chechen Republic and a former member of the Chechen independence movement, had his accounts on Facebook and Instagram blocked as the result of sanctions imposed by the United States, the Guardian reported.

The block was first imposed on Saturday and were discovered when Russian national Kadyrov found he was unable to access his account on either of the social media platforms where he has amassed a considerable following.

The decision by Facebook to block the Chechen leader was made in compliance with sanctions administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

“We became aware and have now confirmed that the accounts appear to be maintained by or on behalf of parties who appear on the U.S. Specially Designated Nationals List and thus, subject to U.S. trade sanctions. For this reason, Facebook has a legal obligation to disable these accounts," a spokesperson for Facebook said, calling the situation, “nothing new.”

U.S. agencies imposed travel and financial sanctions under the Magnitsky Act on Kadyrov and four other Russian nationals last week on allegations of human rights abuses. U.S. officials accused Kadyrov of heading "an administration involved in disappearances and extrajudicial killings." He is also accused of ordering the death of at least one of his political opponents.

In addition to the sanctions, Kadyrov was also added to the Department of Treasury’s blacklist. As a result, any of Kadyrov’s assets that are held by American financial institutions have been frozen and he is prohibited from completing any transactions with those institutions.

Prior to his ban on Facebook and Instagram, Kadyrov used the platforms to mock the sanctions levied against him. On his Instagram accounts—a Russian-language account that had more than three million followers and an English-language account that had nearly one million—the Chechen leader mockingly wrote, “A sleepless night is waiting for me,” on the day the sanctions were announced.

“I can be proud that I'm out of favor with the special services of the USA," he wrote . "In fact, the USA cannot forgive me for dedicating my whole life to the fight against foreign terrorists among which there are bastards of America's special services."

Kadyrov has made himself a noteworthy social media figure through his strange use of the platforms, especially Instagram. The Russian national has used social media to make death threats against critics, post photos of himself with exotic animals and plead for help finding his lost cat—which got him mocked by comedian John Oliver .

Over the weekend, Kadyrov’s accounts were locked, leaving him without access to his favorite form of communication. He filed a complaint over the incident with Roskomnadzor, the media and telecommunications regulator in Russia. The agency has demanded an explanation from Facebook regarding the decision to block Kadyrov, according to the Guardian .

The head of the Russian parliament information technologies and communications committee—a committee that has previously backed bans on virtual private networks and is discussing a ban on all U.S. media —suggested the decision by Facebook and Instagram to block Kadyrov amounts to an attack on freedom of speech.

Kadyrov will not be entirely without social media despite the bans. He has since joined Chechnya-based social network Mylistory where, according to a r eport from Russia Today , he posted that he will post “all important news and photos” from his kadyrov_95 handle.