UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the murder of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov and said he hopes those guilty will be brought to justice soon, TASS reported.
In a statement, released by the organization's press service, the UN chief said he was "shocked" by the brutal killing of Nemtsov in downtown Moscow overnight to Saturday.
"The Secretary-General notes that an investigation into this murder has been announced, and he expects the perpetrators to be brought to justice swiftly," the statement reads.
Mr. Ban also sent his condolences to Nemtsov's family, friends and supporters, according to the statement.
Nemtsov, 55, was killed while walking along the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge. Preliminary data suggests he was gunned down from a car passing by the bridge. Four bullets hit him in the back and he died on the spot.
He was a co-chair of the RPR-Parnas liberal democratic political party and a deputy of a regional legislature, the Yaroslavl city duma. Nemtsov held a number of Russian government positions in the 1990s.
The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case into the "killing" and "illicit arms trafficking." Several theories of the murder are being considered. Investigators do not rule out that this was a contract killing.
Russia's authorities have pledged that those behind the murder will be brought to justice.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed that everything will be done to ensure that the organizers and the perpetrators of the murder are properly punished.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Nemtsov's murder is "cynical" and praised the politician as a person who "has always defended his views.".