US blacklists Chechen leader, others in Russia, Haiti, Yemen for rights abuses

The United States said on Thursday said sanctioned alleged human rights abusers in Russia, Yemen and Haiti including Ramzan Kadyrov, who is the leader of Russia's Muslim-majority Chechnya region and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a statement, the US Treasury said in addition to Kadyrov it had sanctioned six companies registered in Russia as well as five individuals, all of which have close ties to him. It also sanctioned three individuals in Haiti for alleged human rights abuses as well as five people connected to Yemen's Houthi-controlled security and intelligence agencies.