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Boris Nemtsov murder in Moscow

Norway calls for ‘independent, transparent’ probe into Nemtsov killing

Russian authorities should do their utmost to find out who is behind the crime, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said

OSLO, March 2. /TASS/. Norway’s prime minister on Sunday urged Russia to carry out an "independent and transparent investigation" into the killing of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.

"Russian authorities should do their utmost to find out who is behind the crime and to ensure an independent and transparent investigation whose results will be credible," Prime Minister Erna Solberg told Norwegian news agency NTB, noting that "this will largely determine whether someone will dare to criticise authorities in future."

No matter who committed the murder of Nemtsov, "this has frightened the Russian opposition," Solberg added.

Nemtsov, 55, was killed while walking along the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge. Preliminary data suggests he was gunned down from a car passing by the bridge. Four bullets hit him in the back and he died on the spot.

He was a co-chair of the RPR-Parnas liberal democratic political party and a deputy of a regional legislature, the Yaroslavl city duma. Nemtsov held a number of Russian government positions in the 1990s.

The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case into the "killing" and "illicit arms trafficking". Several theories of the murder are being considered. Investigators do not rule out that this was a contract killing.

Nemtsov will be buried at Moscow’s Troyekurovskoye Cemetery on March 3.

Russia’s authorities have pledged that those behind the murder will be brought to justice.

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