MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. The defense attorneys of the family of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov will continue to press for the prosecution of the organizers and the masterminds behind his murder.

"We will continue to seek legal action against the organizers and the individuals who were behind Nemtsov’s murder. Today’s sentence indicates that the masterminds behind this murder could be in Grozny," attorney Vadim Prokhorov told reporters.

For her part, another defense attorney of the Nemtsov family, Olga Mikhailova, voiced regret over the fact that the court sentenced the perpetrator of the crime Zaur Dadayev to just 20 years behind bars instead of life imprisonment. The attorneys earlier said that the issue of appealing the sentence would be resolved after discussing it with Zhanna Nemtsova.

On Thursday, Moscow’s District Military Court found guilty all the five defendants in the case of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov’s murder and sentenced them to prison terms varying from 11 to 20 years and a fine of 100,000 rubles ($1,659) each. The decision was made by Judge Yuri Zhitnikov based on the jury’s guilty verdict. However, the court took into account the time they had already spent in custody since March 2015. Material evidence has been handed over to the Russian Investigative Committee, which continues to look into the criminal case.

Nemtsov murder case

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. Another suspect, Beslan Shavanov, offered resistance during his arrest and blew himself up.

According to investigators, Ruslan Mukhudinov, a former officer of the Chechen Sever (or North) battalioin, is the mastermind behind the murder. Mukhudinov was charged in absentia. He has been on the international wanted list since November 2015. A criminal case against him is investigated separately.