Russian court puts daughter of murdered Boris Nemtsov on wanted list

A Russian court has issued an arrest warrant in absentia for Zhanna Nemtsova, the daughter of the Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, who was murdered in Moscow in 2015.

According to the court, Nemtsova is wanted for her participation in a German organization declared "undesirable" by Russia, and the decision provides for her to be placed in pre-trial detention for a period of two months, should she be detained in Russia or extradited or deported back to the country.

Following her father's death in 2015, Zhanna founded the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom. In April 2024, the Russian Ministry of Justice included the foundation in its list of foreign and international organizations whose activities are banned or "undesirable" on Russian territory. If convicted, Nemtsova faces up to six years in prison.

She has lived in Germany for more than a decade, frequently relocating for security reasons. Nemtsova is convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin at the very least contributed to creating the political climate that led to her father's murder.

Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 28, 2015, in the center of Moscow, on a bridge in immediate proximity to the Kremlin. The opposition politician was struck by four bullets and died at the scene.

Zhanna Nemtsova reacted quickly to the news of the arrest warrant by posting a photo in front of the headquarters of the German international media outlet Deutsche Welle in Bonn, where she worked as a journalist for a long time.