Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Nemtsov Killer Gets 20 Years, Mastermind Not Charged

Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov was a pain in Vladimir Putin's backside. The former first deputy prime minister of Russia under President Boris Yeltsin was shot to death in sight of the Kremlin in February 2015. Five Chechens faced trial for the murder, and the last of them just received 20 years in prison for the crime. However, the man who likely gave the order faces no prison time, was not even charged and was not called as a witness. This is how Putin's Russia covers up assassinations.

Back in October 2016, Reuters reported, "A prosecutor said the investigation had identified a group of Chechens who had been after Nemtsov since autumn 2014. They rented apartments in Moscow, bought a pistol and ammunition and used several cars to keep track of him. On the day of the murder, two of the accused watched Nemtsov through a window as he dined with his girlfriend at a glitzy cafe near Red Square, the court was told. One of the men caught up with him as he crossed a bridge and fired six shots at him. After the murder, the group went to their home region of Chechnya in southern Russia. One of the alleged gang was killed while resisting arrest."

The German news magazine Deutsche Welle said, "In the dock are five men from Chechnya. Most of them are former policemen; some of them are related. They were arrested quite soon after the murder. Russian police say that a sixth suspect took his own life as he was being arrested. Most of the accused initially confessed, but they later recanted, saying they were pressured into it. They now deny killing Nemtsov."

The ringleader, the man sentenced to 20 years in jail today, is "Zaur Dadayev, the former deputy commander of a paramilitary police battalion in Russia's autonomous Chechen Republic. Dadayev is said to have shot at Nemtsov at least six times with a pistol. . . . Investigators claim that Dadayev and his accomplices were contracted by Ruslan Mukhudinov, a fellow Chechen and former police officer, to carry out the murder." said DW.com.

Tom Parfitt wrote in the Telegraph back in March, "In an extraordinary statement posted on his Instagram account on Sunday evening, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-loyal leader of Chechnya, said that Mr Dadayev was known to him as a 'fearless and brave' 'patriot of Russia' who was 'ready to give his life for the Motherland' and had served as the deputy commander of a Russian interior ministry battalion based in Grozny. Mr Kadyrov also praised another suspect in the murder who reportedly blew himself up with a grenade as police surrounded him in the Chechen capital on Saturday evening, saying that he was 'as brave a warrior' as Mr Dadayev."

Mr. Kadyrov may know absolutely nothing about the killing (although it's unlikely), and it is almost certain that he would have said as much on the witness stand. However, that doesn't mean he should not have been called to testify. The judge and prosecutors failed to compel his testimony, and one must ask why unless it was to protect him.

Vadim Prokhorov, the lawyer representing Nemtsov's daughter, told journalists after the sentencing. "Neither the organisers nor the masterminds were in the dock.... No one any longer doubts that the trail leads to the close circle of Ramzan Kadyrov. The trail leads at least as far as Grozny [the Chechen capital], and perhaps higher." Higher means Moscow, which means the Kremlin.

Opposition politician Ilya Yashin, a friend and ally of Mr. Nemtsov, said, "It's impossible to consider the crime solved while the masterminds and organisers are still at liberty." Exactly.

© Copyright 2017 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



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