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Russia Offers ECHR Settlement for Accused Nemtsov Murderer

Mikhail Pochuyev / TASS

Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, one of the five Chechen men accused of killing Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, could receive compensation for having his human rights violated, the Kommersant newspaper reported Tuesday.

The Russian government has agreed to pay Eskerkhanov 6,000 euros ($6,368) in return for dropping his complaint in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Eskerkhanov complained in June to the ECHR that he had been beaten by prison staff and subjected to “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” in custody.

Russian Deputy Justice Minister Georgy Matyushkin did not comment on the allegations, but admitted that Eskerkhanov had been transported in substandard conditions.

Matyushkin said the money was "fair compensation for the damage.” Eskerkhanov has not formally accepted the deal, Kommersant reported. 

It has not been reported whether settlements have been offered to four other defendants in the case who also complained to the ECHR.

Boris Nemtsov was fatally shot in the back in a drive-by shooting near Red Square, on Feb. 27, 2015.

The five men currently charged with carrying out the murder are Zaur Dadaev, brothers Anzor and Shagid Gubashev, Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, and Khamzat Bakhaev. A sixth suspect, Beslan Shavanov, killed himself during a confrontation with police in March last year.

Russia has reached more than 80 out-of-court settlements since signing the European Convention on Human Rights in 1998, according to ECHR data.

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