Russian court sentences Zhanna Nemtsova, daughter of Boris Nemtsov, to four years in absentia

The verdict

A Moscow court sentenced Zhanna Nemtsova to four years in prison on Thursday, 5 November 2026, in her absence. The case was heard at the Zamoskvoretsky court, where judge Elina Babayants led the proceedings, according to EL PAÍS. Nemtsova is the daughter of Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and opposition figure who was shot dead in Moscow in February 2015. She is currently living in exile, and Mediafax, citing dpa, gives her age as 42. The verdict is not final and can still be challenged on appeal.

The charge and the foundation

The charge is organising activities for a foreign organisation that Russia has deemed undesirable. Nemtsova founded the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom in memory of her father, according to Mediafax, which says the foundation was set up in 2015 in Bonn, Germany. The Justice Ministry placed the foundation on its list of undesirable organisations in April 2024. The prosecutor's office says she is fully aware the group has been declared undesirable in Russia and systematically acts to steer its activities. The Investigative Committee added that she publishes recordings in which she openly stresses her leadership, organises its funding and operations, and offers negative assessments of events in Russia. EL PAÍS notes that the undesirable label also covers Greenpeace, Amnesty International and Transparency International.

Restrictions and status

The court also banned her from administering websites for at least eight years, according to Europa Press, while EL PAÍS reports the ban as eight years. Russian authorities have placed her on a wanted list. Reports differ on the timing of the steps against her. Mediafax says a Russian court issued an arrest warrant in absentia in August 2026, while EL PAÍS dates the wanted listing to October. Europa Press and Notícias ao Minuto say the Justice Ministry added her to the foreign agents list in early October 2026, whereas EL PAÍS says the Kremlin applied that label earlier in 2026.

Defence and her response

Her lawyer, Alexei Tsvetkov, argued during the trial that prosecutors had not proved her guilt and asked for an acquittal, according to a Mediazona journalist present in court, as EL PAÍS reports. Nemtsova rejected all the accusations as politically motivated and accused Russian authorities of intensifying efforts to silence independent voices, Mediafax reports. She described her foundation as backing independent Russian press in exile, educational projects and the rights of Russians who left the country because they oppose the war in Ukraine and the Putin regime. EL PAÍS reads the charge as also targeting her criticism of the invasion of Ukraine.

Her father's killing

Europa Press says Boris Nemtsov was shot several times on Red Square in Moscow after criticising corruption in Chechnya and the deployment of troops to Ukraine. EL PAÍS places the killing about 200 metres from the Kremlin and notes that he was shot shortly before publishing an investigation into the role of the Russian army in the Donbas war of 2014 and 2015. According to EL PAÍS, Russian justice never established who ordered his killing.