You're reading: Russia’s Investigative Committee: Investigation into Nemtsov murder pursuing several leads

The investigation into the killing of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov is pursuing several leads, including an act of political provocation, an extremist Islamic trace, the events in Ukraine, business activities, and other reasons behind the crime, Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Interfax.

“At the present time, the investigation is analyzing several theories, including murder as an act of provocation to destabilize the political situation in the country, and Nemtsov’s personality could have been a kind of sacrifice for those who stop at nothing to attain their political ends,” Markin said.

“A theory involving an extremist Islamic trace is also being carefully analyzed,” he said.

“In fact, the investigation has information that Nemtsov had received threats because of his position on the killing of Charlie Hebdo journalists in Paris,” he said.

“A theory related to the internal Ukrainian events is also being looked into,” Markin said. “It’s not a secret that there are very radical persons not obeying any authorities among both conflicting parties,” Markin said.