The European Court of Human Rights has ordered the Russian government to pay 6,000 euros ($7,000) in compensation to one of the men convicted in the murder of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov.
Temirlan Ekserkhanov and brothers Anzor and Shadid Gubashev filed a complaint with ECHR saying they were held in inhumane conditions in detention centers in Moscow in March 2015.
An ECHR press release said the defendants in Nemtsov’s murder case complained of overcrowding, the length of their pretrial detention, and “the excessively long proceedings in the judicial review of their detention.”
The court only ruled in favor of Eskerhanov’s complaint because the others had reached a settlement with Russia earlier.
“In its judgment today, the Court held, unanimously, that there had been: a violation of Article 3 with regard to the conditions of Mr Eskerkhanov’s detention in the IZ-77/6 facility since May 2015 and the conditions of his transport and detention in a convoy cell,” said the ECHR in a press release.
On July 12, a Moscow judge sentenced Anzor Gubashev to 19 years in a high-security prison and his brother Shadid to 16 years for their roles in the politician's murder. Eskerkhanov was handed 14 years, and Khamzat Bakhayev 11 years.
Zaur Dadayev, a former officer in the Chechen security forces, was found to have pulled the trigger as Nemtsov walked home across Moscow's Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge in February 2015. Dadayev was sentenced to 20 years.
The men were allegedly offered 15 million rubles ($240,000) to murder Nemtsov. The ringleaders of the crime, however, have not been apprehended.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
