Russia detains four suspects over Nemtsov killing

Four men were in custody March 8 for the killing of Russian opposition activist Boris Nemtsov in a probe which has yet to reveal the motive for the brazen assassination in the centre of Moscow.
      
The suspects, from Chechnya in the volatile northern Caucasus region, were detained a little over a week after Nemtsov, a longtime critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot four times in the back as he strolled with his girlfriend along a bridge in full view of the Kremlin and Red Square.
      
The FSB federal security service and powerful Investigative Committee, which are working together to solve the murder that Putin denounced as a "provocation," on Saturday announced the arrests of Zaur Dadayev and Anzor Gubashev.
      
Late Saturday Albert Barakhoyev, secretary of the Security Council of Russia's Ingushetia republic, told state news agency RIA Novosti the men had been arrested in the republic, which borders Chechnya, along with Gubashev's younger brother and another person.
      
State news agencies reported that Dadayev was a deputy commander for the Chechen police while Gubashev worked for a private security company in Moscow.
      
The suspects were due to appear in court in central Moscow on Sunday, where security had been stepped up, to determine whether to extend their detention, court spokeswoman Anna Fadayeva told the news agency. It was not clear if all four men would be appearing.
      
However no information has emerged as to the possible motive the men could have had in killing the charismatic opposition leader. His allies believe his assassination was a hit ordered by the top levels of government determined to silence dissenters. The allegation has been strenuously denied.