Kadyrov named his sixteen-year-old son curator of the Special Forces University

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Sunday that he had named his teenage son, who was filmed beating a prisoner in custody last year, as curator of Russia’s Special Forces University, named after President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reports.

Adam Kadyrov, who turned 16 in November, was appointed last year as his father’s top bodyguard and observer in a new battalion that is part of the Russian Defense Ministry’s forces.

“He is thoroughly familiar with the activities of the famous university, so I believe that he will perfectly handle the assigned responsibility,” Reuters quoted Kadyrov as saying in the Telegram application. Kadyrov did not specify the duties of the curator.

Kadyrov further added that the appointment was made at the request of the rector of the university, which is located in the Chechen city of Gudermes. A Russian private educational institution provides training for special forces, the agency explains.

Last September, Adam Kadyrov was caught in a video posted on social media by his father beating and kicking a prisoner accused of burning a Koran. According to Reuters, Nikita Žuravel, who was supposed to have committed the offense, was sentenced to three and a half years.

Ramzan Kadyrov then stated that he was proud of his son, as he was supposed to defend his Muslim religion. However, the incident also drew criticism from pro-Kremlin supporters. Kadyrov has been given considerable leeway by Putin in exchange for stability in the region, which fought two separatist wars with Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Kadyrov has ruled Chechnya, which is a federal republic of Russia, since 2007. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022, he has sent thousands of his fighters to Ukraine, Reuters adds.