International

Facebook has explained that the account of Ramzan Kadyrov had been disabled because he was subject to US sanctions.

"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," the company said in a statement.

The statement comes a week after the United States imposed sanctions against five Russian nationals including Ramzan Kadyrov under the Magnitsky Act, a decision slammed by the head of the Chechen Republic.

Following the move, several accounts of Kadyrov on US social media platforms have been blocked for unknown seasons. Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor said on Monday it would send an official inquiry on the reasons for the ban if the social media representatives failed to provide explanations in the next few days.