A rights group criticized actress Hillary Swank, actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, and violinist Vanessa-Mae for attending the birthday party of Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of the Chechen Republic in Russia, who stands accused of torture and other human rights abuses.

Kadyrov, who just turned 35, threw a massive party in Grozny, the capital, last week.

Van Damme stood on stage and said, “I love you Mr. Kadyrov” and Swank wished him “happy birthday,” adding that she was honored to be in the capital, according to media reports. Vanessa-Mae also reportedly performed for $500,000.

Human Rights Foundation (HRF) said it sent a letter to Shakira, who was supposed to perform at the birthday party—but chose not to go.

Kadyrov said that Shakira had been talked out of singing for him by human rights activists, according to HRF.

“It is embarrassing that Hilary Swank, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Vanessa-Mae lent their name to an event such as this. It is disheartening and shameful,” HRF head, Thor Halvorssen, said in a statement.

Appointed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in 2007, Kadyrov is said to have to have been involved in the mysterious “disappearance” of certain people, as well as authorizing extrajudicial killings. 

In 2006, Human Rights Watch said his regime was involved in “widespread torture.”