Relatives of convicts for Boris Nemtsov's murder treat verdict as unjust

Relatives and friends of Khamzat Bakhaev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, residents of Chechnya, sentenced to 11 and 14 years of imprisonment, respectively, claimed the lack of proof for their guilt.

On July 13, in the case on the politician Boris Nemtsov's murder, the court sentenced five defendants to 11 and 20 years of imprisonment.

"Of course, given the fact that public prosecutor requested long terms of imprisonment for the defendants, up to life imprisonment, it was clear that the punishment would be severe. However, nevertheless, the verdict turned out to be too tough. How could the court sentence a man, a father of six minor children, whose guilt has not been proven, to 11 years of imprisonment?" said a relative of Khamzat Bakhaev.

Relatives and friends of Tamerlan Eskerkhanov have also stated claimed his innocence. "Tamerlan has an alibi, but the court did not take it into account," said his relative. The woman has noted that the sentenced man has seven minor children.

Almost all out of more than 30 residents of the Chechnya interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent stated that they treated Boris Nemtsov with respect and called the involvement of Chechen natives in his murder a "shame." Besides, the majority of respondents believe that the persons guilty of the politician's murder should be severely punished.

"Boris Nemtsov was one of the few Russian politicians, who were truly respected in Chechnya. This fact is primarily related to his principled position on the war in the republic during the first military campaign. Boris Nemtsov also spoke against the second military campaign and argued for a political settlement of the situation," noted Isa, a member of a local NGO.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.