All five defendants charged with Nemtsov's murder found guilty

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. Jurors have come to a verdict on the five defendants charged with the murder of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov.

"A verdict has been reached," the jury foreman told Judge Yury Zhitnikov.

"Has it been proven that around late September 2014, Dadayev, acting together with Anzor and Shadid Gubashev, Tamerlan Eskerkhanov and Khamzat Bakhayev, agreed to a proposal made by a person who is on the wanted list, as well as by other persons, to take the live of Nemtsov in exchange for money, then set up a group together with his accomplices, who had either known each other for a long time or had family relations with each other, divided the roles having only one goal, taking precautions and implementing a single plan? Yes, it has," Judge Yuri Zhitnikov read out the jury’s decision.

Judge Yuri Zhitnikov said it has been proved that Zaur Dadayev together with Anzor and Shadid Gubashev, Tamerlan Eskerkhanov and Khamzat Bakhayev agreed in late September 2014 to kill Nemtsov for a reward of 15 million rubles ($254,000 at current exchange rate).

The proposal came from a person who is at large now, the judge said. Dadayev joined a group of accomplices, who had previously known each other and had close family ties with a clear distribution of roles among them and a single goal and acted in line with a single plan.

At the same time, the jury said that Dadayev deserved no mercy. Ten out of 12 jurors voted for declaring him guilty, while four out of 12 said he deserved mercy.

Jurors believe that no defendants deserve leniency, according to the verdict. Although the jurors made no unanimous decision, the absolute majority of jurors voted that the defendants are guilty and do not deserve leniency. The defendants face a sentence up to life in jail.

A total of 10 out of 12 jurors voted that the main defendant in the case, Zaur Dadayev, is guilty, and four out of 12 jurors said that he deserves mercy. They also ruled that Shadid Gubashev, Khamzat Bakhayev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov were accomplices in the murder. Bakhayev also provided shelter to the accomplices during the preparations for the killing

All the defendants were also found guilty of illegal acquisition, storage and transportation of firearms. 

Prosecutor will ask for sentence for defendants in Nemtsov murder case July 4.  The state prosecution is satisfied with the jury’s verdict for five defendants in the murder of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov, Prosecutor Maria Semenenko told TASS.

"The state prosecution respects the verdict delivered by the jury," she said. "We believe that during the time spent in the deliberation room, the jurors thoroughly assessed all the evidence and made the only possible fair decision," she pointed out adding that Nemtsov’s murder was "a brazen, brutal and shameful crime."

The persons affected in the case of the murder of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov agree with a verdict passed by the jury in the Moscow District Military Court, the lawyer for the Nemtsov family said on Thursday.

"The jurors’ verdict largely corresponds to our position. We drew attention to the fact that the guilt of Khamzat Bakhayev was not proven but the jurors decided that it was proven. We cannot say that we are satisfied with the verdict because we would like that the murder would not have taken place at all. Also, the masterminds and organizers have not been identified," Vadim Prokhorov said.

As the Nemtsov family’s lawyer said, "after today’s verdict, the investigation has no other variants but to search for the crime’s masterminds and organizers."

The Nemtsov murder trial began in October 2016. The verdict was passed through a vote of 12 jurors after three days of deliberations.

Boris Nemtsov, former deputy prime minister under then-President Boris Yeltsin, co-chairman of the Parnas party and lawmaker of the Yaroslavl regional legislature, was gunned down in downtown Moscow on February 27, 2015. Five individuals were arrested on suspicion of murdering the politician: Zaur Dadayev, Anzor and Shadid Gubashev, Tamerlan Eskerkhanov and Khamzat Bakhayev who are believed to be the perpetrators of this criminal action.