Trial opens over murder of Kremlin critic Nemtsov

MOSCOW: A Moscow military court on Monday began an initial closed-door hearing in the trial of the suspects in the shock murder of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov last year, a lawyer said.
Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and one of the most prominent critics of President Vladimir Putin, was gunned down on the evening of February 27, 2015, as he walked across a bridge from the Kremlin.
Five suspects – all reportedly Chechens – are currently in detention and face up to life in jail if convicted. They deny any guilt.
Russian investigators have described the killing whose brutality horrified the world as a hit ordered by a low-ranking Chechen official and other "unidentified" suspects.
The session began at Moscow District Military Court after Russian investigators announced last month they had completed their probe.
Police closed off part of the pedestrian street next to the court and did not allow journalists or others to approach, TASS state news agency reported.
Lawyer Vadim Prokhorov, who represents Nemtsov's family, told AFP he would submit "numerous requests" to the court, particularly on selecting the jury for the trial itself, which should be open to the public.
The five defendants have been named as Zaur Dadayev, Shadid and Anzor Gubashev, Bemirlan Eskerkhanov and Khamzat Bakhayev.
According to investigators, a Chechen security official named Ruslan Mukhudinov – who has been identified as the ringleader but has fled abroad – approached the other men in September 2014 and offered 15 million rubles (RM94,227) for the murder.
Thorn in Kremlin's side
Nemtsov's family and allies say the authorities have failed to bring the masterminds to justice and point the finger of blame at Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov as well as the Kremlin itself.
Kadyrov had a long-running feud with Nemtsov and has made calls to eliminate Russia's "enemy" opposition.
Mukhudinov has reportedly served in a Chechen unit called Sever which supported Kremlin loyalist Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Denied access to the pro-Kremlin state media, Nemtsov had become a marginal figure in Russia but he remained a thorn in the side of the authorities.
At the time of his death, he was probing Moscow's covert deployment of troops to Ukraine – and ex-colleagues are convinced he was killed to halt his political work.
The trial is beginning just days after a close friend of Nemtsov, independent journalist Pavel Sheremet, was killed by a powerful car bomb in Kiev in a crime that investigators say was linked to his work.— AFP