Nemstov buried as leaders claim Moscow barred access

MOSCOW: Slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was buried in Moscow yesterday, with some prominent European lawmakers saying Russia prevented them from attending.

Many Western ambassadors attended the funeral ceremonies that began at 10am (2pm, Thai time) in Moscow’s Sakharov Centre.

The actual burial took place at a cemetery on the outskirts.

Nemtsov was gunned down on Friday just outside the Kremlin’s walls.

The killer escaped unidentified, prompting opposition activists to accuse President Vladimir Putin of either ordering the killing or at least creating an atmosphere of political hatred that led to the crime.

At least two prominent European lawmakers said that Russia prevented them from attending.

Former Latvian Foreign Minister Sandra Kalniete, who is a deputy in the European Parliament, said that border guards barred her from entry at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport late on Monday.

“Despite this decision of the Putin regime I want the relatives and friends of Boris Nemtsov and all Russian democrats to know that we ... are with them at this tragic moment,” Ms Kalniete said in a statement.

Bogdan Borusewicz, the president of the Polish Senate, said earlier in Warsaw that Russia authorities refused him a visa.

Speaking on Polish TV, the one-time rights activist accused Mr Putin of steering Russia in the direction of a dictatorship.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius was in attendance, while the German government was represented by its Commissioner for Russia, Gernot Erler.

Mr Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday the Russian president would not attend the funeral and would send his representative in parliament, Garry Minkh, instead.

Mr Putin has called Nemtsov’s killing a “provocation”.

Russian investigators have said that they are looking into various motives for the murder, including a link to the conflict in Ukraine.

The Investigative Committee, which handles the case, confirmed yesterday that the key witness to the crime, Nemtsov’s girlfriend who walking home with him when he was gunned down, had returned to her native Ukraine.