Russia Charges 2, Detains 3 More in Nemtsov Murder

2 arrested yesterday are charged as 3 more arrive in court
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 8, 2015 6:56 AM CDT
Updated Mar 8, 2015 8:08 AM CDT
Russia Arraigns 5 in Nemtsov Murder
Tourists hold a poster symbolically showing a Russian flag riddled with bullet holes as they pose for a photo at the place where Boris Nemtsov, a charismatic Russian opposition leader and sharp critic of President Vladimir Putin, was gunned down on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015 near the Kremlin, in Moscow,...   (Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Five suspects in the killing of prominent Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov have been delivered to the court for arraignment, the spokeswoman for a Moscow court said today. The statement by Anna Fedeeva to reporters outside the courthouse came one day after the Federal Security service said two suspects had been detained. Those two, Anzor Gubashev and Zaur Dadayev, have been charged and are of Chechen origin, per the BBC. Russian news agencies late yesterday reported that two others had been detained, and Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said today there was a fifth suspect. Security service director Alexander Bortnikov gave no details of how Gubashev and Dadayev were detained or specifics on how they were connected to the killings. President Vladimir Putin, who had dubbed Nemtsov's killing a "provocation," made no comment on the detentions.

However, state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti said they were detained in Ingushetia, a republic bordering Chechnya, citing Ingush Security Council chief Albert Barakhoev. Dadaev served in a battalion of Interior Ministry troops in Chechnya, Barakhoev was quoted as saying. He said Gubashev had worked in a private security company in Moscow. Barakhoev also was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying two others were seized at the same time as the suspects. But there has been no official announcement of their detention. Dadaev's mother was quoted by Interfax as saying the two others were her nephews. Many believe that Nemtsov's death in a tightly secured area near the Kremlin wouldn't have been possible without official involvement, and could be an attempt to scare other government foes. (More Boris Nemtsov stories.)

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