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MOSCOW. — Authorities in Moscow have charged two men with involvement in the murder of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, one of whom served in a police unit in the Russian region of Chechnya according to a law enforcement official.
Five suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of Nemtsov, a prominent opposition figure, who was gunned down last week. Three of them have not yet been charged and are being treated as suspects, said court spokeswoman Anna Fadeyeva.
Court officials named Anzor Gubashev and Zaur Dadayev as those charged, and said Gubashev’s brother Shagid was one of the three suspects. Russian media reports said they originated from Chechnya, the mainly Muslim southern republic that has seen violent separatist insurgencies over the past two decades.
The judge at Dadayev’s hearing, Natalia Mushnikova, said Dadayev had admitted involvement in the killing and ordered him to be held in custody until April 28.
“Dadayev’s involvement in committing this crime is confirmed by, apart from his own confession, the totality of evidence gathered as part of this criminal case,” she told the court.
Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27 within sight of the Kremlin walls, in the most high-profile killing of an opposition figure in the 15 years that President Vladimir Putin has been in office.
Some associates of Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister who became a Putin critic, say the Kremlin stands to gain from his death and insist they will only be satisfied if prosecutors track down whoever orchestrated the killing, rather than just the people who pulled the trig- ger.
Russian officials have denied involvement in Nemtsov’s death and Putin has condemned the killing. — Reuters.
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