Russian authorities detain 2 suspects in Boris Nemtsov murder probe
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian authorities have detained two men on suspicion of killing opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, state media reported the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov as saying on Saturday.
See also: Ukrainian girlfriend of Boris Nemtsov under protection after death threats
Phone taps and evidence left in the getaway car led investigators on Saturday to Zaur Dadayev and Anzor Gubashev — both from the restive North Caucasus — according to Bortnikov, whose comments were carried by the state’s Rossiya 24 television channel.
“The necessary operational and investigative procedures are continuing,” the FSB head said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed of the suspects’ detention. Putin has called Nemtsov’s killing a “disgrace.”
Nemtsov’s lawyer Vadim Prokhorov welcomed the detainments. “This is good news,” he said.
Bortnikov’s statement on state television suggests the Kremlin wants to put its best face forward to the public and show it’s taking the investigation seriously.
Ilya Yashin, Nemtsov’s colleague from liberal opposition group Republican Party of Russia-Party of People’s Freedom, urged investigators to be completely transparent about the evidence gathered that points to Dadayev and Gubashev.
“The FSB should clearly and publicly prove that the detainees are actually involved in the crime,” he said.
Often times the state produces “reduced” evidence that allows for only the perpetrators and not the organizers of crimes to be apprehended, Yashin added.
“If the investigation is really interested in establishing the killer, it is obliged to check for involvement in the crime of high-ranking officials who criticized Nemtsov in recent years,” he said. “Everyone — including the President of Russia” should be investigated.
A police officer stands guard at the scene of the murder of Russian opposition leader Boris in central Moscow early Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015.
Image: Evgeny Feldman, Mashable
Nemtsov was killed when he was shot four times in the back shortly before midnight local time on Feb. 27 while while walking with Ukrainian girlfriend Anna Duritskaya in central Moscow. Duritskaya has said she “didn’t see anything” because it all happened so fast.
Ukrainian authorities granted her extra protection on Friday after she complained about receiving death threats while staying at her family home 55 miles south of Kyiv.
In this photo taken on Aug. 28, 2012, Anna Duritskaya poses for a photo for a modeling portfolio in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Image: AP Photo/Daria Buznikova
There are many competing theories about who killed Nemtsov and why. The Kremlin has denied allegations from opposition colleagues of Nemtsov that it played a role in his murder.
Nemtsov was an outspoken critic of Putin and a former deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first post-Soviet president. Many people thought him to be Yeltsin’s successor. But Putin was tapped instead of him.
Nemtsov’s 30-year-old daughter Zhanna Nemtsova told CNN she has no faith in the Russian investigation into her father’s murder.
“I cannot blame [Putin] directly, [but] I would say that our authorities, including the president of Russia, have political responsibility as the head of state,” she said.
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