Nemtsov Murder: ‘Opposition Politician Confessed under Duress’

Zaur Dadayev, one of the two suspects charged with the murder of Russian opposition politician, Boris Nemtsov, confessed under duress, a member of Russia’s Human Rights Council has said.

Andrei Babushkin, who visited Dadayev in prison on Tuesday, said wounds on his body suggested he had been tortured.

Investigators say the visit was to check confinement conditions only and have warned of interference.

Nemtsov was killed on 27 February. Dadayev and Shagid Gubashev, who both originate from Chechnya, were charged with his killing on Sunday. Three other men are being held in connection with the case. After visiting them in prison, Mr Babushkin said there were “reasons to believe Zaur Dadayev confessed under torture”.

He called for “people not involved in the investigation” to look into the claim.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said Mr Babushkin and a journalist accompanying him had been allowed to visit the prison to inspect the conditions under which the suspects were being held.

By publicising details about the case they had broken the law, a statement said, warning that “such actions may be regarded as interference in the investigation”. Both Mr Babushkin and the journalist would be questioned by investigators, it said.

During the visit, Mr Dadayev showed marks from handcuffs and ropes he had around his legs after his capture in Ingushetia on Saturday.

He said he had only confessed to make sure a friend who was arrested with him would be released.

He had planned to tell a court hearing on Sunday the truth, Mr Babushkin said, but was not given a chance to speak.

Mr Gubashev continues to maintain his innocence.

He said he was in Chechnya when he learned that his cousin, Mr Dadayev, had been detained in the neighbouring Russian republic of Ingushetia.

He said he immediately travelled there and was detained as soon as he arrived.

It would not have made sense for him to go to Ingushetia if he were connected to the crime, he added.

He said he was beaten and had a bag pulled over his head, which was only taken off after arriving in Moscow.

Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and veteran liberal politician was shot dead on 27 February while walking with his girlfriend near the Kremlin.

Russian investigators have yet to cite a motive for his killing.

Last year, Mr Nemtsov contacted the Russian authorities after receiving death threats on his Facebook page. In his request for an investigation, a copy of which has now been published (in Russian) by the

a Russian weekly news magazine, he linked the threats to his position on the conflict in Ukraine.