Experts treat the version of Islamic-extremist trace in Nemtsov's murder as unlikely

The experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent treat the version of Boris Nemtsov's murder for the reasons of religious extremism least likely. Nemtsov was killed for his oppositional activities, said the politicians Vladimir Ryzhkov and Konstantin Merzlikin.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Russian politician Boris Nemtsov was killed last night in central Moscow. Nemtsov had regularly sharply criticized the actions of the Chechen leadership.

Investigators consider the "Islamic-extremist trace" as one of the versions of the crime, said the ICRF. The reason for the murder could be in Nemtsov's position with respect to the execution of the staff of the magazine Charlie Hebdo, investigators have suggested.

The version of the Islamic-extremist trace is premature, noted Ruslan Kurbanov, a political scientist and a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). His viewpoint is supported by Oleg Orlov, a board member of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", and Akhmet Yarlykapov, a senior fellow at the Centre for Ethno-Political Studies of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the RAS.

Kurbanov suggested that the killing of Nemtsov will have "a profound impact on the situation in the Russian society."

In its turn, the ICRF has called for "a careful and balanced attitude" to the information on Nemtsov's murder.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.