Chechen leader: Rights activists to be barred from visiting

The leader of Chechnya says human rights activists will be barred from visiting his region of Russia once the trial of a prominent activist wraps up.

One of Chechnya's most prominent rights advocates, Oyub Titiyev, is on trial for drug possession. His supporters dismiss the charges against him as a political vendetta.

Speaking at a meeting with law enforcement officials in a video released on Wednesday, Ramzan Kadyrov vowed to make Chechnya a "no-go zone" for human rights activists, whom he described as "terrorists and extremists," after the Titiyev trial ends.

Kadyrov accused the activists, who have shed light on rampant rights abuses in the southern Russian region, of "standing in the way of a peaceful life of our people.