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Turkey completes investigation into assassination of Russian ambassador — agency

Earlier, Turkish law enforcement officers arrested two men in connection with the case
A portrait of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov Maxim Shemetov/Pool photo via AP
A portrait of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov
© Maxim Shemetov/Pool photo via AP

MOSCOW, November 16. /TASS/. The Turkish prosecutors have completed an investigation of Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov’s assassination in December 2016, the country’s Anadolu news agency reported.

According to the agency’s sources, an indictment into the case is ready, and, once it is approved by Ankara Prosecutor’s Office, the case will be sent to the court.

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.

Turkish law enforcement officers arrested two men in connection with the 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.

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.