Russian opposition leader shot
1 March 2015 1:03 AM GMT
A Russian opposition leader and fierce critic of president Vladmir Putin, Boris Nemtsov, was shot by an unidentified attacker who fired multiple rounds at the politician as he was walking in central Moscow late on Friday.
The murder of the 55-year-old politician, who has been an outspoken critic of Russia’s involvement in Ukraine, came ahead of a major opposition rally this weekend. US president Barack Obama condemned the ‘vicious murder’ of Nemtsov, whom he had met on a visit to Moscow, and called on the Russian government to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation of the killing, which sent shock waves across Russia.
The Kremlin swiftly dubbed his death a provocation. The murder ‘bears the hallmarks of a contract killing,’ Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding it was a provocation. Police and investigators said Nemtsov was shot down by unidentified assailants as he was walking with a woman along a bridge not far from the Kremlin. “A man with documents in the name of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov was killed,” an interior ministry spokesman said on Saturday.
The Investigative Committee, which reports directly to Putin, confirmed Nemtsov’s death, saying it had opened a criminal probe. “According to preliminary information, an unidentified person shot at Boris Nemtsov no fewer than 7-8 times from a car as he was walking along the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky bridge,” investigators said in a statement.
An AFP reporter saw a blood stain on the pavement on the side of the bridge near the Kremlin, roses laid by a police barrier at the scene. The committee said ‘experienced’ investigators had been put on the case. Nemtsov launched his political career as governor of Nizhny Novgorod region in central Russia and became a vice PM in the late 1990s under the presidency of Boris Yeltsin. After leaving parliament in 2003, he led several opposition parties and groups. Nemtsov’s murder comes ahead of a major opposition rally scheduled to take place on Sunday.
The murder of the 55-year-old politician, who has been an outspoken critic of Russia’s involvement in Ukraine, came ahead of a major opposition rally this weekend. US president Barack Obama condemned the ‘vicious murder’ of Nemtsov, whom he had met on a visit to Moscow, and called on the Russian government to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation of the killing, which sent shock waves across Russia.
The Kremlin swiftly dubbed his death a provocation. The murder ‘bears the hallmarks of a contract killing,’ Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding it was a provocation. Police and investigators said Nemtsov was shot down by unidentified assailants as he was walking with a woman along a bridge not far from the Kremlin. “A man with documents in the name of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov was killed,” an interior ministry spokesman said on Saturday.
The Investigative Committee, which reports directly to Putin, confirmed Nemtsov’s death, saying it had opened a criminal probe. “According to preliminary information, an unidentified person shot at Boris Nemtsov no fewer than 7-8 times from a car as he was walking along the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky bridge,” investigators said in a statement.
An AFP reporter saw a blood stain on the pavement on the side of the bridge near the Kremlin, roses laid by a police barrier at the scene. The committee said ‘experienced’ investigators had been put on the case. Nemtsov launched his political career as governor of Nizhny Novgorod region in central Russia and became a vice PM in the late 1990s under the presidency of Boris Yeltsin. After leaving parliament in 2003, he led several opposition parties and groups. Nemtsov’s murder comes ahead of a major opposition rally scheduled to take place on Sunday.
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