All news

One of suspects in Nemtsov murder appeals arrest — lawyer

The other four suspects in the case did not file any appeals

MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. Khamzat Bakhaev, one of the suspects in Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov’s murder has appealed his arrest, his lawyer Sofia Rubasskaya told TASS on Tuesday.

"Yes, we have appealed the arrest of my client," Rubasskaya said.

Press secretary of Basmanny court Anna Fadeeva confirmed that an appeal from the lawyer was received today. "In an appeal, the lawyer asks to cancel the arrest of Bakhaev and release him," Fadeeva said.

The press secretary added that other four suspects in the case did not file any appeals.

On March 8, Moscow’s Basmanny Court sanctioned the arrest of three suspects in the case of the recent murder of Boris Nemtsov - Bakhaev, Tamerlan Eskerkhanov and Shagid Gubashev.

Gubashev was arrested until May 7, Eskerkhanov and Bakhaev until May 8. Bakhaev, 45, Eskerkhanov, 34 and Gubashev, 31, are suspected of murder committed by a group of persons in collusion for reasons of greed or for money, as well as connected with robbery, extortion or banditry (Article 105 of Russia’s Criminal Code) and illegal turnover of weapons (Article 222).

The suspects face 8 to 20 years in prison or life in prison. It was impossible to choose a different measure or restraint for the suspects as they may "hide from investigators, keep being involved in criminal activity, try to pressure eyewitnesses… as well as try to destroy evidence."

Bakhaev and Gubashev are natives of the Russian North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia registered in the Moscow Region, and Eskerkhanov is a native of Chechnya registered in Moscow.

The court also sanctioned the arrest of another two detainees in the case - Zaur Dadaev and Anzor Gubashev. They have been arraigned.

Murder of Boris Nemtsov

Russian opposition and state figure, deputy of a regional legislature, the Yaroslavl region duma, Boris Nemtsov, was shot dead on downtown Moscow’s Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge overnight to February 28 from a handgun.

Nemtsov was a co-chair of the RPR-Parnas party. He had held a number of government positions in the 1990s. Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into the killing under articles 105 and 222 of the Russian Criminal Code. Investigators do not rule out the murder was a contract killing.

Nemtsov was buried at the Troyekurov Cemetery in Moscow on March 3.

The key witness of the crime, Ukrainian national Anna Duritskaya, who was with Nemtsov at the moment of his killing, left for Ukraine after required investigative activities. She plans to cooperate with investigators.