State prosecution requests five years in prison colony for Zhanna Nemtsova in the undesirable organization case

Prosecutor requests five years in prison colony

The state prosecution has demanded that Zhanna Nemtsova — daughter of politician Boris Nemtsov, designated a foreign agent in Russia — be sentenced in absentia to five years imprisonment in a general-regime colony. TASS reports this from the courtroom of the Zamoskvoretsky Court in Moscow; the prosecutor's words in the closing arguments are quoted by Gazeta.Ru: 'I request that Zhanna B. Nemtsova be sentenced to five years imprisonment, to be served in a general-regime colony. I request that this sentence be considered in absentia.'

The essence of the charges

Nemtsova is charged under Part 3 of Article 284.1 of the Russian Criminal Code — organizing the activities of a foreign or international organization designated as undesirable on Russian territory. According to Gazeta.Ru, she is a co-founder and head of the non-profit organization 'Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom,' which has been designated as undesirable in Russia.

Course of the case before the verdict

The proceedings unfolded in stages: in July, the Zamoskvoretsky Court in Moscow arrested Nemtsova in absentia , and, as Life.ru specifies, the arrest term is to be counted from the moment of her detention in Russia or her transfer to Russian law enforcement; after that she must spend two months in a pre-trial detention center. The defense appealed the arrest, but the Moscow City Court upheld the ruling. In September, Nemtsova was placed on an international wanted list. No verdict has been issued yet — the closing arguments took place on November 5, where the state prosecution announced the requested sentence.