Washington D.C. — Representative Michael McCaul and Representative Eliot L. Engel, Lead Republican and Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today introduced legislation condemning the murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov and calling on the Trump Administration to sanction those responsible. On the fourth anniversary of the killing, the members condemned Vladimir Putin for orchestrating a coverup of the assassination and called for an international investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Lead Republican McCaul said, “History has shown us that tyrants and dictators will take extreme measures to silence political opposition for the purposes of clinging to power. And the assassination of Boris Nemtsov outside the Kremlin four years ago was a shocking example of how far Vladimir Putin will go to stifle dissent and strike fear within his own people. The United States strongly condemns the targeting of political opponents and any attempted cover up by the authoritarian regime in Moscow. Our bipartisan resolution introduced in the House today makes clear that Boris Nemtsov’s unwavering support for freedom and democracy for the people of Russia will never be forgotten. We will stand by their side until justice is served.”

Chairman Engel said, “Boris Nemtsov had a vision for a democratic and free Russia. Sadly, that put him right in Putin’s crosshairs. Now he joins a long list of brave journalists, human rights activists, and political opponents murdered by Putin’s henchmen in their quest to silence all criticism of the Kremlin and stamp out any perceived threat to Putin’s authoritarian regime. Today’s resolution sends a bipartisan, bicameral message to the Russian government: the United States Congress demands justice for Boris Nemtsov. We will continue fighting for a proper investigation into the murder, and we will push the Trump Administration to enact strong sanctions on those responsible.” 

Representatives Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and Liz Cheney (R-WY) joined as original cosponsors of the bill, and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, introduced a companion resolution in the Senate. 

Full text of the resolution can be found here. 

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