Boris Nemtsov Murder: Girlfriend still Held by Police

Russian police are still questioning the Ukrainian girlfriend of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, who was with him when he was shot dead in Moscow. Anna Duritskaya's lawyer told Russian media that she was anxious to go home temporarily to see her mother in Kiev.

"I don't understand why I'm still on Russian territory," she told Russia's independent TV Rain (Dozhd).

Police were holding her for safety reasons, she said. But her lawyer said the police "are acting correctly".

The killing took place on Friday night on Great Moskvoretsky Bridge, near the Kremlin wall. Mr Nemtsov, 55, had just been dining at a restaurant with Ms Duritskaya.

They left together to walk to his flat, crossing the bridge, where a white car drew up and Mr Nemtsov was shot four times with a pistol at around 23:40 (20:40 GMT). Ms Duritskaya was not injured.

According to website Vesti.ru, Ms Duritskaya phoned the police and her mother immediately after Mr Nemtsov was shot and fell.

Her mother said Anna "was holding his hand and then heard the bangs".

"Boris slumped and fell. Anya was very frightened, she started calling the police and me immediately. She said on the phone: 'Mama, Boris has been killed! He's been shot in the back, he's fallen and now he's lying beside me," Anna's mother was quoted as saying.

In her Dozhd TV interview, via Skype, she said the police "took a statement from me, they checked all my things, checked my phone calls, they took all the information".

The Federal Security Service (FSB), in charge of internal security, said its security cameras did not record the shooting because they were pointed towards the Kremlin.

Opposition rally
Tens of thousands of people marched through central Moscow on Sunday to honour Mr Nemtsov. He had been due to lead an opposition march on Sunday but his killing turned the event into a mourning rally.

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Honcharenko, who was detained by police at the rally, is free to fly back to Ukraine from Moscow now, Vesti reports, quoting police. (BBC)