Boris Nemtsov - among the nominees for the Sakharov Prize

One of the leaders of the Russian opposition in recent years, Boris Nemtsov (posthumously), as well as Saudi blogger-activist Raif Badawi (pictured left) and a group of Venezuelan opposition democrats are competing for the Sakharov Prize in 2015. Photo: European Parliament

Russian oppositionist Boris Nemtsov, killed in February in the center of Moscow, posthumously shortlisted for the Freedom of Thought Prize by the European Parliament.

The Andrei Sakharov Prize is awarded to outstanding personalities fighting against intolerance, fanaticism and oppression in various countries of the world.

В top three nomineesbesides Nemtsov, also included blogger-activist Raif Badaui from Saudi Arabia, sentenced to 10 years in prison and a thousand blows with canes, as well as a group of Democratic oppositionists from Venezuela.

According to Elena Valenciano, Chairperson of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, the inclusion of Boris Nemtsov in the number of applicants for the award demonstrates dissatisfaction with the current human rights situation in Russia on the part of European parliamentarians.

“Nemtsov was an outstanding figure in Russian civil society who wanted to see Russia democratic, peaceful and prosperous. As an opposition leader and civic activist, he fought corruption and abuse of power in Russia. For this, he gave his life, ”said the former Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament.

Boris Nemtsov was shot dead 27 February on the Big Moskvoretsky bridge, two hundred meters from the Kremlin. In the case of the murder of a politician, five people were arrested. According to the investigation, immediate murder killer is a former soldier of the Chechen battalion "North" Zaur Dadaev.

However, the Nemtsov family believes that the investigation is not looking for customers for the crime. Earlier, the daughter of the murdered politician Zhanna Nemtsova appealed to the ECHR with a complaint about the actions of Russian law enforcement agencies.

The prize named after the scientist, dissident and human rights activist Andrei Sakharov is awarded by the European Parliament annually, starting with 1988.

The long list of the 2015 award of the year also included the Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, who accused of Russia in connection with the murder of journalists of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company near Lugansk, and the former US intelligence officer Edward Snowden, hiding in Russia from American justice after the well-known revelations of the activities of the National Security Agency.

In September in the USA, Boris Nemtsov was posthumously awarded the Freedom Prize (Liberty Award), presented annually by the International Republican Institute in Washington. For Nemtsov, his colleague, deputy chairman of the PARNAS party, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Jr., received his prize.

Nemtsov's daughter Jeanne, who left Russia, was in July awarded the Solidarity Prize behalf of Lech Walesa, established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. The head of the Polish Foreign Ministry, Grzegorz Schetyna, said that Zhanna Nemtsova continues the work of her father, who has become a symbol of Russia in recent years. The death of Nemtsov, the Polish minister called "the triumph of evil and a great loss for the free world."