MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Neither of the suspects held for the murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov earlier this month is pleading guilty, the chairman of Moscow’s Public Oversight Commission, Anton Tsvetkov, said Wednesday.
"At this time, neither suspect in the Nemtsov case is acknowledging his guilt," Tsvetkov said.
Russia's former deputy prime minister Nemtsov was gunned down late February 27 near the Red Square in downtown Moscow. Anna Duritskaya, his 23-year-old girlfriend walking with him at the time of the assault, was unhurt and is currently the key witness in the case.
On Sunday, the court called for the arrest of five suspects. One of them, Zaur Dadayev, who earlier pleaded guilty, withdrew his plea Wednesday, after the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council suggested his confession was made under duress.
The council is now considering whether to raise the issue of torture with the country's prosecutor general.