A man charged with assassinating Russian opposition leader Boris Nemstov has told a court he was beaten and pressured into confessing to the murder . Zaur Dadaev is accused of being involved in the shooting of the politician in Moscow on February 27 , along with four other Chechan men . Now Russian news agencies have quoted him as telling the court that he had been abducted , beaten and pressured into confessing to Nemstov 's murder . Zaur Dadaev spoken to the court in Moscow via a video link from his prison cell . Dadaev had previously confessed to Boris Nemstov 's murder but now says he was beaten and pressured into make that statement . Dadaev is one of five Chechan men who have been accused of killing the opposition leader . Nemstov was shot in the back four times on a bridge close to the Kremlin in February , sparking a huge protest march in Moscow . Dadaev was the only one , according to a judge and investigators , who confessed to the killing . When he appeared in court in March , Dadaev did n't admit his guilt for the murder , and later retracted his confession . Human rights activist Andrei Babushkin , who visited the suspect in jail last month , said he had seen signs of torture on Dadaev 's body . Zaur Dadaev retracted his confession for the murder of Nemstov last month . A human rights activist said when he visited him in prison he had abrasions on his body and had suffered multiple injuries . Boris Nemstov was an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin . It is understood at the time of his death he was working on a report examining Russia 's military involvement in the east of Ukraine . But the Russian state-funded television network Russia Today claimed human rights activists had found no signs of torture on Dadaev 's body when they visited him in custody . Dadaev is being held with his cousins , Anzor and Shagid Gubahsev . Khamzat Bakhayev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov have also been accused of involvement in Nemstov 's murder . The outspoken politician was shot in the back four times as he crossed a bridge near the Kremlin and Red Square in Moscow . More than 20,000 people marched through the capital city in protest of his murder , holding posters of his face and signs saying : ' I am not afraid ' . An outspoken critic of Putin , investigators say they are still trying to work out who ordered Nemstov to be killed .
Boris Nemstov is accused of shooting the Kremlin critic , close to Red Square . Suspect had reportedly confessed to murder but later retracted statement . Claims he was abducted , beaten and pressured into confessing to murder .