Court arrests five suspects in Nemtsov murder case

Moscow's Basmanny court has placed under arrest the five suspects apprehended in connection with the murder of Boris Nemtsov. Charges have been brought against two: Anzor Gubashev and Zaur Dadayev.

According to media reports, Dadayev was the only one to confess to playing a part in Nemtsov's murder. Meduza's correspondent at court says Dadayev said no such thing. But he was the only one of the five men to keep silent. The others pleaded not guilty.

Three more people were placed under arrest: Shagid Gubashev (Anzor's younger brother), Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, and Khamzat Bakhayev.

The investigation has yet to present a motive for the crime. Police have yet to specify what roles the suspects played in Nemtsov's murder. (The five men arrested are believed to be hitmen, and the people who orchestrated the killing are presumably still at large.)

• Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and prominent critic of Vladimir Putin, was shot to death in the center of Moscow, just minutes from the Kremlin, on Friday, February 27. Nemtsov was 55-years-old. Police have announced a reward of 3 million rubles (about $48,000) for information leading to the apprehension of the murderers.