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A Russian court charged two men with the murder of opposition activist Boris Nemtsov, including an ex-police officer from Chechnya who confessed to his involvement in the brazen assassination.
Five suspects appeared in a court in central Moscow a little over a week after Nemtsov, a long-time critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot four times in the back as he strolled with his girlfriend along a bridge in full view of the Kremlin.
Court spokeswoman Anna Fadeyeva told the RIA Novosti news agency that three of the men who were not charged were only considered suspects at this stage. All five were remanded in custody.
Zaur Dadayev, a former deputy commander for the Chechen police, and Anzor Gubashev, who worked for a private security company in Moscow, were arrested on Saturday in the republic of Ingushetia, which neighbours Chechnya.
They were both charged with murder but Gubashev denied involvement.
"The participation of Dadayev is confirmed by his confession," presiding judge Nataliya Mushnikova said.
However, no information has emerged as to the possible motive the men could have had in killing the charismatic opposition leader.
His allies believe his assassination was a hit ordered by the top levels of government determined to silence dissenters. The allegation has been strenuously denied.

Yesterday, the Investigative Committee announced three further arrests in the case - Gubashev's younger brother Shagid, Ramsat Bakhayev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, who news agencies reported had also been arrested in Ingushetia.
The men are all from the volatile northern Caucasus region where Russia has fought two devastating wars against Chechen rebels and where security forces continue to clash with Islamist insurgents.
"The suspects denied their involvement in this crime but investigators have proof of their involvement," a representative for the probe told the court of the three.
The Interfax news agency, meanwhile, cited a source in law enforcement as saying that another suspect sought by police over the murder had holed himself up in the Chechen capital Grozny on Saturday and blown himself up with a grenade after throwing another at police surrounding the building.
The audacious murder in one of the most secure parts of the Russian capital sent shivers through an opposition that has seen several critics of the Kremlin killed in recent years and accuses Putin of steadily suppressing independent media and opposition parties.
Nemtsov's daughter, Zhanna Nemtsova, in an interview with CNN from Germany, said the murder was obviously "politically motivated".
"I think that now, Russia has crossed the line after this murder, and people will be frightened to express their ideas which contradict ... the official standpoint."

Her comments echo those heard from Kremlin critics since the killing, such as activist Alexei Navalny, who accused "the country's political leadership" of ordering a hit on Nemtsov.
Nemtsov, who had long complained of being followed and having his phone tapped, had spoken of his fear of being killed.
Putin described Nemtsov's killing as a tragedy that brought disgrace on Russia and vowed to bring to justice those who committed the crime.
However, many Russians blame Putin for whipping up hatred against the opposition by regularly referring to them as a “fifth column” of traitors and spies – a message spread daily by all-powerful state media.
He first used the term fifth columnist – which refers to a group of people undermining a nation from within – after he ordered the annexation of Crimea in Ukraine last year, plunging relations with the West to lows not seen since the cold war.
Investigators have suggested Nemtsov’s killers wanted to destabilise Russia while Kremlin-loyal politicians have referred to a Western plot.
Investigators say they are also probing the possibility he was assassinated for criticising Russia’s role in the Ukraine conflict or for his condemnation of January’s killings at the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly in Paris by Islamist gunmen.
At the time of his death, Nemtsov was believed to be working on a study documenting the secret deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine, something the Kremlin denies doing.
 


Chechen policeman ‘confessed’ to role in killing of Russian opposition leader Nemtsov

Three of the five suspects in the murder of Boris Nemtsov hide their faces inside a cage in a Moscow court yesterday. Photo: AFP

Zaur Dadayev (below left) and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov (below right) are suspected of involvement in the murder.Photo: Reuters

Three of the five suspects in the murder of Boris Nemtsov hide their faces inside a cage (above) in a Moscow court yesterday. Zaur Dadayev (below left) and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov (below right) are suspected of involvement in the murder. Photo: AFP

Zaur Dadayev (left) and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov (right) are suspected of involvement in the murder. Photo: Reuters. AFP

Unidentified suspects, detained over the killing of Boris Nemtsov, hide their faces inside a defendants' cage at a court building in Moscow. Photo: Reuters

Policemen escort the suspects in a court corridor in Moscow. Photo: AFP

People lay flowers and candles for Boris Nemtsov (pictured left) on the spot where he was gunned down, just within sight of the Kremlin. Photo: AP

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Two men charged, three other suspects in custody in what investigators are calling a contract killing


A Russian court charged two men with the murder of opposition activist Boris Nemtsov, including an ex-police officer from Chechnya who confessed to his involvement in the brazen assassination.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Two men charged, three other suspects in custody in what investigators are calling a contract killing

Two men charged, three other suspects in custody in what investigators are calling a contract killing