- Investigative Committee applied to court for formal arrest of five suspects accused of Nemtsov’s murder
- Appearances come a week after 55-year-old was shot four times in the back while walking near the Kremlin
- Suspect Zaur Dadayev has now admitted involvement in the crime, according to Russian news authorities
- He was arrested in Ingushetia and is thought to have served for ten years in the ‘Sever’ battalion in Chechnya
- All of the men were escorted into court from a bus with hands bound and masked guards either side
- Other suspects have been named as Anzor Gubashev, Shagid Gubashev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov
Five suspects including a policeman who served in Chechnya have appeared in court over the assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
Their appearances come a week after the 55-year-old was shot four times in the back while walking along a bridge in full view of the Kremlin with his model girlfriend Anna Duritskaya, 23.
One of the suspects – Zaur Dadayev – has allegedly made a statement confirming his guilt, Judge Nataliya Mushnikova said. She did not specify his alleged actions.
All of the men were escorted from a bus to Basmanny district court, in Moscow, with their hands bound in front of them and masked men standing either side.
Once inside they continued to be flanked by armed guards and were forced to speak from a defendant’s cage.
The Investigative Committee, the state agency leading the investigation, said it was applying to the court for the formal arrest of five people in connection with the killing.
Dadayev is thought to have served for around ten years in the ‘Sever’ battalion, which is part of the interior ministry of Chechnya, a security official said.
Another suspect was named as Anzor Gubashev. State news agencies reported that Gubashev worked for a private security company in Moscow.
Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s federal security service, said Dadayev and Gubashev were ‘suspected of carrying out the crime’. It was not clear if either of the suspects were believed to have fired the shots that killed Mr Nemtsov.
The mother of Dadayev said she was stunned at the arrest of her son.
‘I was informed today that my son has been detained on suspicion of involvement in Boris Nemtsov’s murder. I can’t believe it. He could not have committed this crime,’ Aaimani Dadayeva told the Interfax news agency late on Saturday.
The other suspects include Mr Gubashev’s younger brother Shagid Gubashev and two men – one named Tamerlan Eskerkhanov and the other known as Bakhayev.
Mr Bortnikov added that the developments had been reported to the president.
He stressed the Lubyanka was continuing ‘necessary operative and investigative work’ on the case.
Meanwhile another man thought to be involved Mr Nemtsov’s death blew himself up after being approached by police, the New York Times reported.
He is thought to have thrown a grenade at police before setting one off near himself.
Mr Nemtsov had been working on a report about Russian military involvement in the eastern Ukraine conflict at the time of his death.
Russian officials have denied any involvement, with Putin dubbing the murder a ‘provocation’.
In a speech with officials from the interior ministry, Putin said: ‘The most serious attention should be paid to high-profile crimes, including the ones with a political subtext.
‘Russia should be devoid at last of the kind of shame and tragedies that we have recently endured and seen.
‘I mean the murder, the audacious murder of Boris Nemtsov right in the centre of the capital.’
Russia’s top investigative body said it was looking into several possible motives, including that Mr Nemtsov was killed in an attempt to smear Putin’s image.
It said it was also examining possible connections to Islamic extremism and Mr Nemtsov’s personal life.
But Mr Nemtsov’s associates said they will only be satisfied if prosecutors track down whoever orchestrated the killing, and not just the people who pulled the trigger.
Ilya Yashin, one of Mr Nemtsov’s closest allies, said: ‘It’s extremely important that the matter not be limited to detention of the shooters, whether these are the real killers or not.
‘The key task is the identification and detention of who ordered the attack.’
Thousands of Russians paid their final respects to Mr Nemtsov on Friday when he was laid to rest in the capital.
The politician’s mother Dina, 87, and four children laid him to rest, with ex-UK prime minister Sir John Major leading Western mourners attending his funeral.
