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Muslim cleric Gulen denies involvement in Russian ambassador's murder

In a video address Gulen also accused Turkey’s government of defaming his movement

MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. US-based Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen has denied his involvement in the assassination of Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, Associated Press reported citing Gulen’s video address.

In the video address, Gulen accused Turkey’s government of defaming his movement. Gulen said "it is not possible for them to convince the world of such accusations."

Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was gunned down on Monday night while he was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition dubbed "Russia from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka through the eyes of travelers". According to Turkey’s authorities, the attacker was neutralized by security forces. The attack also left three people wounded. Russia’s foreign ministry officially declared it a terrorist attack, while the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case labeling Karlov’s assassination an act of international terrorism.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that according to the investigators, Fethullah Gulen was involved in the assassination of the Russian embassador as the killer had links to his movement.