Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said Monday that reports that his 18-year-old son Adam was injured in a car accident last month were made up, marking his first public reaction to the alleged incident.
Russian exiled media and Chechen opposition groups reported that Adam Kadyrov was involved in a “massive fatal car crash” in Grozny on Jan. 16. He was allegedly flown to Moscow for medical treatment despite suffering non-life-threatening injuries.
Novaya Gazeta Europe, citing an anonymous source, reported that the driver of a vehicle that collided with the younger Kadyrov’s motorcade had died in the crash.
“With artificial intelligence, anyone can be fooled. There have been 128,000 accidents across the country, 13,009 people have died, but no one cares, no one says anything,” Ramzan Kadyrov said during a meeting with the republic of Chechnya’s chief prosecutor.
“And yet, out of nowhere, the story about Kadyrov’s son getting in an accident became the number one international news story,” he added.
In a Telegram post, Kadyrov said authorities in Chechnya planned to crack down harder on “fake news.”
Adam Kadyrov has been appointed to a growing number of senior government posts in Chechnya in recent years, fueling speculation that his father may be preparing him to rule the North Caucasus republic after he leaves office. The older Kadyrov, meanwhile, is rumored to be gravely ill.
