Please join the Atlantic Council, the National Endowment for Democracy, the McCain Institute for International Leadership, and the Institute of Modern Russia on Friday, April 1, 2016, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. at the Atlantic Council headquarters (1030 15th St NW, 12th floor, West Tower Elevators), for a panel discussion on the current status of the investigation into the assassination of Boris Nemtsov and the need for international oversight of the investigation.
Photo: Sergei Savostyanov / TASS
“Solved?”: Investigating Boris Nemtsov’s Murder
A conversation with:
Zhanna Nemtsova
Daughter of Boris Nemtsov; Founder and President
Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom
Vladimir Kara-Murza
Longtime Colleague and Friend of Boris Nemtsov; Deputy Leader
People’s Freedom Party
David Kramer
Senior Director for Human Rights and Democracy
The McCain Institute for International Leadership
John Herbst
Director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center
Atlantic Council
Introduced and moderated by:
Carl Gershman
President
National Endowment for Democracy
One year after the public assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, General Alexander Bastrykin, has announced that the case has been “solved.” However, the legitimacy of the investigation is questionable as the Investigative Committee has refused to qualify Nemtsov’s murder under Article 277 of the Criminal Code as “an attempt on the life of a public statesman.” Additionally, neither the organizers, nor the masterminds of the most high-profile political assassination in Russia’s modern history have been named. As prosecutors prepare for a trial at the Moscow District Military Court, only the alleged perpetrators have been arrested, and despite the obvious links between the gunmen and Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed Chechen leader has not been formally questioned in this case.
Given the Russian authorities’ inability or unwillingness to pursue the investigation impartially and without political constraints, international oversight is crucial. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament launched projects aimed at bringing the investigation into the spotlight. In the United States, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently marked up Senate Resolution 378, which “urges the United States Government, in official contacts with representatives of the Russian Government, to emphasize the importance of bringing to justice all of the conspirators in the murder of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov.”
Please join the Atlantic Council, the National Endowment for Democracy, the McCain Institute for International Leadership, and the Institute of Modern Russia for a panel discussion on the current state of the investigation into the assassination of Boris Nemtsov and the need for international oversight.
A light lunch will be served.
Please, register for the event here.
