Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with Ramzan Kadyrov, the authoritarian, Kremlin-backed leader of the North Caucasus region of Chechnya, amid a public outcry over open threats made by the volatile region’s leadership to kill the family of a human rights lawyer. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on February 3 that among other issues, Putin and Kadyrov discussed the work of law enforcement structures in Chechnya during the meeting the day before in Moscow. Hours earlier, Kadyrov’s press service said Putin and the Chechen leader met in Moscow on February 2 to discuss economic development and pandemic restrictions in Chechnya. Russian and international human rights groups have for years accused Kadyrov of overseeing grave human rights abuses including abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and the persecution of the LGBT community.