A Russian court has upheld the arrest in absentia of the suspected mastermind of the assassination of noted Kremlin critic and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
The Moscow City Court ruled on December 16 that its November 18 decision to issue an arrest warrant for Ruslan Mukhudinov, a member of Chechnya's security forces, was legitimate.
The ruling said Mukhudinov must be kept in pretrial detention for at least two months after he is arrested.
Mukhudinov, whose exact whereabouts are unknown, has been charged in absentia with organizing Nemtsov's killing.
A former deputy prime minister, Nemtsov was gunned down near the Kremlin on February 27.
Five other suspects from Russia's North Caucasus who have been implicated in the case remain in custody under an order by Moscow’s Basman district court.