Anniversary of Boris Nemtsov's murder: the best tribute is to continue his struggle for a peaceful, free and democratic Russia - Hoofdinhoud

One year after the murder of the Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, the ALDE Group in the European Parliament and numerous representatives of Russia's democratic opposition and civil society have today come together to remember his fight for freedom and argue the best tribute Europeans can pay to him is to continue his struggle for a peaceful, free and democratic Russia. ALDE calls for an international investigation to find out the truth about Nemtsov' s murder.

Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE Group leader, said today:

"We have come together today to mourn the loss of Boris Nemtsov and take forward his campaign for a freer and more democratic Russia. One year on from his death, many questions about his murder remain unanswered".

"As the Kremlin's flawed investigations haven't brought any clarity or accountability, it's clear we now need an international push for a thorough investigation to find out the truth about what happened that day".

"Also, the Council should act to adopt more stringent, targeted sanctions against those individuals who put Boris Nemtsov on a hit list last year and are now doing the same to Mikhail Kasyanov. President Putin has an obligation to protect all citizens of Russia, regardless of their political views".

A series of events organised by the ALDE Group in commemoration of Nemtsov started this afternoon with the European launch of the report of Ilya Yashin, a leading figure of the People's Freedom Party of Russia (Parnas), on Ramzan Kadyrov and the security situation in Russia. This was followed by a conference on "Strengthening Russia's European foundations", which included the participation of the Russian opposition leader Mikhail Kasyanov, and the daughter of Boris Nemtsov, Zhanna Nemtsova.

Hans van Baalen MEP, ALDE Party President and Spokesman on Russia and Ukraine of the ALDE Group, said:

"Boris Nemtsov fought for a democratic Russia which will be a strong partner of Europe, of the world and a peaceful neighbour of Ukraine. It's in our interest and those of Russian people that we support his allies in Russia to carry on their struggle. In the end, democracy will prevail!"

Petras Austrevicius, ALDE Vice President, added:

" For too many years now, the opposition in Russia has been harassed in all possible ways, including personal threats and insults. The EU must demand that Russia fully respect the commitments they have made, in the fields of human rights and democracy. The legitimate rights of Russian opposition parties must be respected ".