MOSCOW: Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov on Friday denied accusations of cruelty after his sons aged 8 to 10 competed in mixed martial arts bouts, claiming he is raising “defenders of Russia.”
He responded after the head of Russia’s mixed martial arts union, Fedor Emelianenko, condemned him for allowing his sons to fight in a televised contest while underage and without protective gear.
The scandal has marred the start of Kadyrov’s third term this week after the former separatist-turned Kremlin loyalist won almost 98 percent in September polls.
Kadyrov parried in a statement on his Instagram: “Fedor, you’re wrong! That’s not how Russian heroes behave!“ He insisted his children took part in an “exhibition match,” saying he did not understand why this “is perceived as horrific.”
Chechens “from childhood raise patriots and defenders of Russia,” said the muscle-bound 40-year-old leader who regularly posts pictures of his gym sessions.
Kadyrov — who at one stage battled the Russian Army as a rebel fighter — is accused of running Chechnya as his personal fiefdom with little oversight from Moscow.
He has brutally suppressed dissent in Chechnya as leader since 2007 and is accused by rights activists of kidnapping and torturing opponents with the help of a private army.
Russia’s Sports Ministry and rights activists have said they will investigate after Kadyrov’s sons Akhmad, Eli and Adam took part in the contest in Grozny on Tuesday, watched by cheering crowds.
The two brothers and other small boys were shown barechested and without helmets kicking and hitting each other on the head.
Kadyrov boasted on Instagram that his eldest son Akhmad, 10, knocked out his opponent in 14 seconds.
Emelianenko said the spectacle was “unacceptable and cannot be justified,” with rules requiring that children wear helmets and protective tops and only compete from the age of 12.
He added he was “really outraged” that this happened as Kadyrov watched in the audience.
Emelianenko, a former world champion, is a member of President Vladimir Putin’s council on developing physical culture and sport.
Kadyrov hits back at critics after sons fight in MMA bouts
Kadyrov hits back at critics after sons fight in MMA bouts
Second doctor in Matthew Perry overdose case sentenced to home confinement
- Dr. Mark Chavez, 55, a onetime San Diego-based physician, pleaded guilty in federal court in October
- Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also sentenced Chavez to 300 hours of community service
LOS ANGELES: A second California doctor was sentenced on Tuesday to eight months of home confinement for illegally supplying “Friends” star Matthew Perry with ketamine, the powerful sedative that caused the actor’s fatal drug overdose in a hot tub in 2023.
Dr. Mark Chavez, 55, a onetime San Diego-based physician, pleaded guilty in federal court in October to a single felony count of conspiracy to distribute the prescription anesthetic and surrendered his medical license in November.
Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also sentenced Chavez to 300 hours of community service. As part of his plea agreement, Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to another physician Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, who in turn supplied the drug to Perry, though not the dose that ultimately killed the performer. Plasencia, who pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful drug distribution, was sentenced earlier this month to 2 1/2 years behind bars.
He and Chavez were the first two of five people convicted in connection with Perry’s ketamine-induced death to be sent off to prison.
The three others scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks — Jasveen Sangha, 42, a drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen;” a go-between dealer Erik Fleming, 56; and Perry’s former personal assistant, Iwamasa, 60.
Sangha admitted to supplying the ketamine dose that killed Perry, and Iwamasa acknowledged injecting Perry with it. It was Iwamasa who later found Perry, aged 54, face down and lifeless, in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023.
An autopsy report concluded the actor died from the acute effects of ketamine,” which combined with other factors in causing him to lose consciousness and drown.
Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s NBC television series “Friends.”
According to federal law enforcement officials, Perry had been receiving ketamine infusions for treatment of depression and anxiety at a clinic where he became addicted to the drug.
When doctors there refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous providers elsewhere willing to exploit Perry’s drug dependency as a way to make quick money, authorities said. Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties that is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders. It also has seen widespread abuse as an illicit party drug.
