All news

One more suspect detained in Turkey in connection with Russian ambassador's murder — media

A former police officer was arrested on the suspicions that he had been a member of the same cell of the terrorist organization as Mevlut Mart Altinta, who killed Ambassador Karpov

ANKARA, July 26. /TASS/. Turkish security forces have detained one more man suspected of involvement in the assassination of the Russian Ambassador in Ankara, Andrei Karlov, in December 2016, Milliyet newspaper said on Thursday.

It said a former police officer, identified as Ufu G., was arrested on the suspicions that he had been a member of the same cell of the terrorist organization Fethullahci Teror Orguku [FETO] as Mevlut Mart Altinta, the man who killed Ambassador Karpov. Investigators say the two men attended meetings of the cell together.

Earlier, the forces of law and order arrested another two men in connection with the same case. They are Hayreddin Aydinbas, the CEO of Guru media group, and Mustafa Timur Ozkan, the organizer of the photo exhibition at the opening of which Altintas shot and fatally wounded Ambassador Karlov.

Andrei Karlov was killed on December 19, 2016, during a speech at the opening of a photo exhibition in Ankara. Security forces finished off the attacker right on the spot. The Russian Foreign Ministry described the assassination as a terrorist act.

President Vladimir Putin decorated Ambassador Karlov posthumously with the title of the Hero of Russia for courage in performing the ambassadorial duties and for notable contribution to Russia’s foreign policy course.

The newspaper Sabah said on December 19, 2017, quoting the Turkish prosecutors that Karlov’s killer had had links to Fethullah Gulen. Turkish investigators believe Altintas knew Gulen personally and he received all the information by telephone.

The Turkish authorities say Gulen, who lives in the US since 1999, and his FETO grouping stood behind a state coup attempt on July 15, 2016.