Written declaration No. 590 | Doc. 13767 | 16 July 2015

In Memoriam of Boris Nemtsov

Signatories: Mr Emanuelis ZINGERIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Mr Volodymyr ARIEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Boryslav BEREZA, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr José María CHIQUILLO, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Christopher CHOPE, United Kingdom, EC ; Ms Lise CHRISTOFFERSEN, Norway, SOC ; Mr Agustín CONDE, Spain, EPP/CD ; Ms Ivana DOBEŠOVÁ, Czech Republic, ALDE ; Mr Bernard FOURNIER, France, EPP/CD ; Mr Karl GARÐARSSON, Iceland, ALDE ; Mr Vladyslav GOLUB, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Andreas GROSS, Switzerland, SOC ; Ms Mariia IONOVA, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Ms Nellija KLEINBERGA, Latvia, ALDE ; Ms Dalia KUODYTĖ, Lithuania, ALDE ; Ms Stella KYRIAKIDES, Cyprus, EPP/CD ; Ms Inese LAIZĀNE, Latvia, EC ; Mr Jacques LEGENDRE, France, EPP/CD ; Ms Valentina LESKAJ, Albania, SOC ; Ms Inese LĪBIŅA-EGNERE, Latvia, EPP/CD ; Mr Georgii LOGVYNSKYI, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Jacob LUND, Denmark, SOC ; Ms Kerstin LUNDGREN, Sweden, ALDE ; Ms Meritxell MATEU, Andorra, ALDE ; Mr Maximilian REIMANN, Switzerland, ALDE ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Serhiy SOBOLEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Chiora TAKTAKISHVILI, Georgia, ALDE ; Mr Egidijus VAREIKIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Ms Birutė VĖSAITĖ, Lithuania, SOC ; Mr Sergiy VLASENKO, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Viktor VOVK, Ukraine, EC ; Mr Piotr WACH, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Robert WALTER, United Kingdom, EC ; Mr Jordi XUCLÀ, Spain, ALDE

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

The tragic assassination of Boris Nemtsov, honourable defender of democracy in Russia, deeply shocked citizens of the democratic world. He had devoted his life to fighting for democratic values in Russia. In spite of constant threats, he defended human rights, peace and democracy in the region. He strongly opposed Russia’s invasions of Georgia and Ukraine. Being a senior member of the Russian Government in the 1990s, Boris Nemtsov was one of those striving to bring Russia to democracy. He never gave up on this project.

We call on Mr Putin to stop politically motivated killings and bring to an end the military propaganda encouraging an environment where hatred for the political opposition has flourished. We call on the Russian Government to stop the war against Russian democrats and, in particular, to abolish the law concerning the registration of NGOs as foreign agents. We demand a transparent and unbiased investigation into the assassination of Boris Nemtsov.

We also appeal to international organisations to begin investigating the crimes of the Kadyrov regime inside Russia, listing them as an international terrorist group.

The best tribute to Boris Nemtsov’s input to democracy in Russia would be to transform the future elections in Russia, to make them free, democratic and fair.