Rights defenders comment on transfer of convict in Nemtsov’s murder case to Chechnya

The transfer of Khamzat Bakhaev, one of the figurants in the Boris Nemtsov’s murder case, means that his custody conditions will noticeably improve. Nemtsov's defence does not oppose Bakhaev's transfer, since he is the only convict, whose guilt was not proven beyond doubt.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 18, Khamzat Bakhaev achieved a transfer from the Kirov Region to Chechnya, where his relatives live.

Khamzat Bakhaev is the only one of the above five convicts, whose guilt was not fully proven, Vadim Prokhorov, one of Nemtsov's advocates, has explained.

"Even then, we believed that Bakhaev was an odd man out of the five convicts. The other four were undoubtedly involved in the murder," the advocate has stated.

A Chechen human rights defender believes that Bakhaev will serve his sentence in more favourable custody conditions. In his opinion, Bakhaev is unlikely to be sent to the special military operation (SMO) zone in Ukraine.

Svetlana Gannushkina*, the head of the “Civic Assistance” Committee*, also believes that Bakhaev's transfer to Chechnya means a relaxation of his custody regime.

"I don’t rule out that after some time he will be released ... Anything can happen in Chechnya," she said.

Let us remind you that in August 2024, it became known that Tamerlan Eskerkhanov had signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and was at the SMO in the assault squad. According to his story, the rest of the convicts remain in jail.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.