[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 378 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 378

 Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the courageous work and 
life of Russian opposition leader Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov and renewing 
   the call for a full and transparent investigation into the tragic 
   murder of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov in Moscow on February 27, 2015.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 29, 2016

  Mr. Johnson (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. 
     McCain, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. Kaine) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the courageous work and 
life of Russian opposition leader Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov and renewing 
   the call for a full and transparent investigation into the tragic 
   murder of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov in Moscow on February 27, 2015.

Whereas February 27, 2016, marks the first anniversary of the murder of former 
        Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov (referred to in 
        this preamble as ``Dr. Nemtsov'');
Whereas Dr. Nemtsov dedicated his life to the causes of freedom and human rights 
        for the Russian people and sought to reduce the corruption in the 
        Government of Russia;
Whereas, on February 27, 2015--

    (1) Dr. Nemtsov was murdered on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge in 
Moscow in view of the Kremlin; and

    (2) President Obama called for a ``prompt, impartial, and transparent'' 
investigation into the murder of Dr. Nemtsov;

Whereas, on March 1, 2015, tens of thousands of people marched through central 
        Moscow in remembrance of Dr. Nemtsov;
Whereas the Russian courts and the Investigative Committee of the Russian 
        Federation have consistently rejected requests to qualify the murder of 
        Dr. Nemtsov under Article 277 of the Russian Criminal Code as ``an 
        attempt on the life of a public statesman'';
Whereas within 10 days of the murder of Dr. Nemtsov, Chechen suspect Zaur 
        Dadayev admitted to killing Dr. Nemtsov at the behest of Ruslan 
        Geremeyev, a senior officer in the Sever Battalion of Chechnya;
Whereas, on March 8, 2015, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov called Zaur Dadayev a 
        ``true patriot'';
Whereas, on March 9, 2015, Mr. Kadryov was awarded the Order of Honor by Russian 
        President Vladimir Putin;
Whereas, on January 20, 2016, Aleksandr Bastrykin, the chief of the 
        Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation responsible for 
        investigating the murder of Dr. Nemtsov, declared that the case had been 
        fully solved;
Whereas the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation charged only 
        Ruslan Muhudinov, the driver of Ruslan Geremeyev, with organizing the 
        murder of Dr. Nemtsov;
Whereas, on May 26, 2015, Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, a 
        close friend and colleague of Dr. Nemtsov, was severely poisoned by an 
        unknown assailant, resulting in multiple organ failures and a coma;
Whereas, on January 25, 2016, the daughter of Dr. Nemtsov, Zhanna Nemtsova, 
        appealed to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to 
        investigate the murder of her father;
Whereas, on February 1, 2016, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov posted a video on 
        Instagram that shows Russian opposition leaders Mikhail Kasyanov and 
        Vladimir Kara-Murza through the crosshairs of a sniper rifle accompanied 
        by the comment, ``Those who did not understand, will understand''; and
Whereas the Russian Federation is a member of the Organization for Security and 
        Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe, which have the 
        capacity to conduct a more credible investigation: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the legacy of courageous Russian opposition 
        leader Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov, who dedicated his life to 
        fighting corruption and promoting the principles of democracy, 
        rule of law, and the inherent dignity of human beings;
            (2) encourages the public release of all surveillance tapes 
        in the area surrounding the crime scene to aid in the 
        investigation;
            (3) 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; and
            (4) calls on the President to significantly increase United 
        States Government support for the causes for which Boris 
        Yefimovich Nemstov gave his life.
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