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Russia bars group from Chechnya

MOSCOW, May 4 (UPI) -- Russian officials turned away Council of Europe delegation members who wanted to visit the town of Tsentoroi in Chechnya.

The Council of Europe's Moscow office spokesman, Nikolai Topornin, said that the delegates were on an ad hoc visit to Russia and wanted to inspect Tsentoroi, but were denied entry Monday by Russian law enforcement officials.

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Pravda reported on May 2 that Tsentoroi is the hometown of the late Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov and his son Ramzan.

Ramzan Kadyrov is currently Chechen Prime Minister. European parliamentarians believe that Tsentoroi contains secret prisons run by the Kadyrov clan.

The next day the delegation was allowed to visit Tsentoroi, according to local human rights commissioner Nurdi Khadzhiyev. While Khadzhiyev said that the delegation visited a police base, a hospital and a school, Topornin said he did not know whether the visit had actually occurred.

Chechen authorities said that the incident was a "misunderstanding," and Kadyrov reportedly ordered an investigation into the incident after offering an apology to the delegates.

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