Chechen special unit "Terek" is on US sanctions list

The "Terek" rapid-response squadron, its commander Abuzaid Vismuradov and the Chechen officer Ruslan Geremeev have been put on the US "Magnitsky List" of sanctions.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 20, 2017, the USA put the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, on the above list, calling him responsible for torture and human rights violations in Chechnya.

The "Magnitsky List" has been supplemented by two Kadyrov's confidants and the "Terek" rapid-response squadron, says the website of the US Treasury.

Ruslan Geremeev, a former commander of the "Sever" (North) battalion, was associated with the murder of the oppositional politician, Boris Nemtsov.

"'Terek' is one of the world best and most experienced units to combat terrorism. If the 'Terek' and its commander Abuzaid Vismuradov are discussed in the USA, this is convincing evidence that the USA is afraid of Chechnya," Kadyrov wrote in his Telegram channel.

For Ramzan Kadyrov, US sanctions pose no threat and can only enhance his authority in Russia and the Middle East, political analysts have noted.

On April 25 this year, it became known that the USA closed the entry to the country of the head of the Chechen government, Muslim Khuchiev, asserting that he is involved in human rights violations in the republic.