Two men were charged on Sunday with the murder of Russian opposition activist Boris Nemtsov as the five suspects in the case appeared in court to determine whether they will be officially placed in detention.

Two men of Chechen origin, Zaur Dadayev and Anzor Gubashev, were charged with "the murder of Boris Nemtsov and three others are still suspects," Anna Fadeyeva, spokeswoman for the court in central Moscow, told the RIA Novosti news agency.

The number of suspects in the case on Sunday grew from two to five with the announcement of the detention of Gubashev's younger brother Shagid Gubashev and two others named only as Bakhayev and Eskerkhanov, whose case would be handled by a separate judge. (AFP)