Chechen sought in murder of Russian opposition leader

A panel probing the murder in February of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov identifies 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 says Mukhudinov “is one of the sponsors and organizers of this crime.”

“He has been the subject of an international wanted persons notice since November 2015,” the panel says. “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. The Jewish opposition leader was shot four times in the back.

— AFP, Times of Israel staff

In this file photo taken on Thursday, May 30, 2013, Boris Nemtsov, a former Russian deputy prime minister and opposition leader, presents a report claiming widespread corruption during preparations for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, at a news conference in Moscow, Russia (photo credit: AP/Ivan Sekretarev, File)