Hilary Swank 'Deeply Regret' Attending Accused Torturer's Party

Celebrity

The actress is the first among the celebrities who were invited to Chenchen Republic president Ramzan Kadyrov's 35th birthday party.

October 13, 2011

AceShowbiz -

Hilary Swank has expressed her regret of partying with accused torturer. The "Million Dollar Baby" star was among celebrities who attended Chenchen Republic president Ramzan Kadyrov's 35th birthday party on October 5 in Grozny, Chechnya.

Swank was slammed for taking part in the celebration because Human Rights Foundation has listed Kadyrov as someone "accused of using torture, causing disappearances, and authorizing extrajudicial executions" since taking office in 2007.

The actress wished the leader a "Happy Birthday" on-stage and said that she Swank admired his "passion to make peace and to make something beautiful".

Editors' Pick

Swank claimed she was unaware of Kadyrov's alleged connection to human rights violations. "I deeply regret attending this event," she wrote a statement to the Associated Press. "If I had a full understanding of what this event was apparently intended to be, I would never have gone."

Jean-Claude Van Damme and Vanessa Mae also attended the birthday party but they have yet to comment. Van Damme was heard as saying, "I love you, Mr. Kadyrov" at the party.

About This Article

AI-Assisted Content: This article was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence technology under human editorial oversight. Our editorial team reviews and verifies all AI-generated content for accuracy.

Sources: Information in this article may be aggregated from publicly available sources including press releases, news agencies, and entertainment industry sources. We provide attribution where applicable and strive to ensure factual accuracy.

Learn More: For details about our editorial standards and practices, visit our Editorial Standards page.

Contact: Questions or concerns? Email us at [email protected]

Follow AceShowbiz.com @ Google News