Kadyrov has dismissed Memorial's account as a "barefaced lie". In a post on his extremely popular Instagram account he said the phone in question belonged to the head of a dance troupe at the event, and has been safely returned to her. "I've no idea how many people they questioned," he says. "Whether it was a thousand or tens of thousands, it means they were doing their work." He adds: "As for my telephones, they are both in front of me, have a strong connection and show no signs of going missing."