The U.S. Department of State imposed sanctions on the leader of Russia’s southern region of Chechnya, barring him from traveling to the United States over accusations of gross violations of human rights, including torture.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement he was concerned that Ramzan Kadyrov was using the novel coronavirus outbreak as an excuse to inflict further human rights abuses on people in the region.

“The Department has extensive credible information that Kadyrov is responsible for numerous gross violations of human rights dating back more than a decade, including torture and extrajudicial killings”, - said Pompeo.