Chechen man sought in murder of Russian opposition chief Nemtsov
AFP
December 30, 2015, 5:08 am
Moscow (AFP) - A panel probing the murder in February of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on Tuesday identified a Russian of Chechen origin, Ruslan Mukhudinov, as being a lead figure in the killing.
In a statement, the Committee of Inquiry into Nemtsov's death said Mukhudinov "is one of the sponsors and organisers of this crime."
"He has been the subject of an international wanted persons notice since November 2015," the panel said. "A separate inquiry will be opened against him and other as-yet unidentified individuals."
An opposition group, Open Russia, said Mukhudinov had served in a Chechen unit called Sever, which supported Kremlin loyalist Ramzan Kadyrov in charge of Russia's restive north Caucasus republic.
Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister who had become a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, was gunned down on a bridge just steps from the Kremlin on February 27. He was shot four times in the back.
Five men suspected of carrying out the murder -- including Zaur Dadayev, also a former member of Sever -- have been detained, but investigators have until now failed to identify the mastermind.
Nemtsov's daughter, Zhanna Nemtsova, filed a complaint over investigators' refusal to question Kadyrov over her father's murder, her lawyer said in August.
