Amnesty International demands in a statement that the killing be "meaningfully investigated." It goes on to add that the it must be "promptly, impartially and effectively investigated." The group goes on to say:
“In the current climate of crackdown on freedoms of expression, assembly and association, this is a cold-blooded murder of one of those free voices whom the authorities have so actively sought to silence," said Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Regional Deputy Programme Director for Europe and Central Asia.
“There is already a list of unsolved political murders and attack in Russia, the investigations of which were under ‘personal control’ of senior Russian politicians. We cannot allow Boris Nemtsov to become just another name on this list.”
Russia’s powerful Investigative Committee -- which styles itself as a kind of Russian FBI -- has taken charge of the case. The Investigative Committee's spokesman, Vladimir Markin, said in a statement posted on the agency's website that investigators are looking at several possibilities: that Nemtsov was killed to destabilize the political situation in Russia; that he was killed by extremists participating in the Ukraine conflict; that he was killed because of his business activity or some personal dispute. The Russian opposition has widely ascribed a political motive to his killing.
“At the moment, the investigation is looking at several versions: murder as a provocation to destabilize the political situation in the country, and the figure of Nemtsov could be his own kind of sacral victim for those who won’t stop at anything to reach their political goals. We are also looking closely at the version of an Islamist-extremist trail. The fact is that investigators have information that Nemtsov received threats due to his stance on the shooting of journalists in the office of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris. Moreover, we are checking a version linked to the domestic Ukrainian events. It’s no secret that there are very radical figures who do not obey any authorities on both of the conflicting sides. But of course we have also not ruled out versions linked to the commercial activity of Nemtsov and his personal hostility toward him and also other domestic versions. All of these will be thoroughly checked. The very best forces of the Investigative Committee and Interior Ministry of Russia have joined the investigation.
A reminder that our Russian Service is live-streaming video from the scene of the murder, where mourners are turning out in growing numbers to lay flowers and otherwise honor Nemtsov.
He means some horse's backside implying a connection with U.S. Ambassador John Tefft, who was serving as Washington's envoy to Ukraine when journalist Heorhiy Gongadze was murdered there and is now ambassador to Russia.
Police have found the car used by the killers to murder Nemtsov, REN TV reports. The car was reportedly found not far from the crime scene.