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Prosecution witnesses in Nemtsov’s case received threats, says prosecutor

Earlier on Thursday, Moscow’s District Military Court found all five of the defendants guilty of Nemtsov’s murder and handed them 11-to 20-year sentences in a maximum-security penal colony

MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. Prosecution witnesses in the murder case of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov received threats throughout the trial heard at the Moscow District Military Court, Prosecutor Maria Semenenko told TASS on Thursday.

"Yes, they have. We are aware of at least some episodes against witnesses," Semenenko said, sidestepping a question whether some of the witnesses were under state protection and noting the information was classified.

Earlier on Thursday, Moscow’s District Military Court found all five of the defendants guilty of Nemtsov’s murder and handed them 11-to 20-year sentences in a maximum-security penal colony. The decision was made by Judge Yury Zhitnikov based on the jury’s guilty verdict.

That being said, the final sentence for the defendants is as follows: Dadayev received 20 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 rubles ($1,659), Anzor Gubashev - 19 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 rubles; Shadid Gubashev - 16 years behind bars and a fine of 100,000 rubles, Temirlan Eskerkhanov - 14 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 rubles, and Khamzat Bakhayev - 11 years behind bars and a fine of 100,000 rubles. Eskerkhanov will be stripped of his ensign military rank, while Dadayev will be stripped of his lieutenant military rank and the Order of Courage.

Their lawyers vowed to appeal against the verdict at the Supreme Court in the coming days to overrule the jury’s verdict. Nemtsov’s relatives, friends and associates have found the punishment too mild.

Nemtsov’s murder

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 men were arrested on suspicion of murdering the politician: Zaur Dadayev, Anzor and Shadid Gubashev, Tamerlan Eskerkhanov and Khamzat Bakhayev. Another suspect, Beslan Shavanov, put up resistance to police and blew himself up.

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