Moscow Court Orders Arrest in Absentia of Zhanna Nemtsova
A Moscow court has ordered two-month detention in absentia for Zhanna Nemtsova, daughter of slain opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, on charges of organizing activities of an "undesirable" organization.
The press service of Moscow courts of general jurisdiction announced on Friday, July 31, that the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow had ordered detention in absentia for Zhanna Nemtsova. She is the daughter of murdered opposition politician Boris Nemtsov and a co-founder of a foundation bearing his name. The detention period was set at two months, to begin once Nemtsova is handed over to Russian law enforcement as a result of extradition or deportation, or from the moment of her actual detention in Russia.
Nemtsova has been charged under an article related to organizing the activities of a foreign or international organization deemed "undesirable" in Russia. The statement did not specify which organization the charge refers to. In a comment to Deutsche Welle, Nemtsova said the case concerns the foundation she helped create. She said the current Russian authorities are irritated by all organizations and people who oppose the war, support Ukraine, and defend human rights and civil liberties — values that Putin is stifling. She noted that the foundation supports independent Russian media in exile, educational projects, and the defense of rights of Russians who left the country due to disagreement with Russia's war against Ukraine and Putin's regime.
Asked why the Russian authorities made this decision now, Nemtsova called it "a riddle." She added, however, that the intensifying efforts of Russian authorities to destroy independent organizations and pressure public figures could signal a planned escalation.
Nemtsova is a journalist and public figure. In the past, she hosted the television program "Nemtsova. Interview" on the Russian-language edition of Deutsche Welle. She is a co-founder of the nonprofit Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom. In April 2024, Russia's Ministry of Justice added the foundation to its list of "undesirable organizations." Nemtsova left Russia in 2015, several months after her father's murder. On social media, she wrote that she was now "famous" and mentioned that the foundation is registered in Bonn.
