Violinist Vanessa Mae, the singer Seal, and actors Hilary Swank
and Jean-Claude Van Damme have been criticised by human rights
organisations for taking part in a lavish concert for Chechen
leader Ramzan Kadyrov on his 35th birthday. Vanessa Mae reportedly
received a fee of $500,000 for performing in front of Kadyrov, who
has been accused by the human rights foundation Memorial of using
torture, causing disappearances and authorising extrajudicial
executions since he was appointed president by Vladimir Putin in
2007.
The New York-based Human Rights Foundation said that it sent
letters to the celebrities in advance of the concert, outlining
Kadyrov's track record on human rights and asking them not to
attend. Swank has since expressed regret over her appearance, and
said she will donate her fee to charity.
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