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TEHRAN, November 25_Turkish judicial officials say the murderer of the Russian ambassador to Ankara, Andrey Karlov, received orders on the assassination from a senior member of a movement led by US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Ankara government accuses of having masterminded the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ten days before the act of terror.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) _Turkish judicial officials say the murderer of the Russian ambassador to Ankara, Andrey Karlov, received orders on the assassination from a senior member of a movement led by US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Ankara government accuses of having masterminded the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ten days before the act of terror.
Turkish prosecutors recently concluded a two-year investigation, and indicted 28 suspects, including Gulen himself, and other high-ranking members of the movement.
According to the indictment on Karlov's assassination, former Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) employee Sahin Sogut was "covert imam" of the assassin Mevlut Mert Altintas.
The indictment noted that Altintas and Sogut communicated via their social media and e-mail accounts.
The pair was in close contact ten days before the assassination, and Altintas got detailed instructions regarding the murder.
Altintas, clad in civilian clothing, shot down Karlov as he was inaugurating a photo exhibition in the Turkish capital city of Ankara on December 19, 2016.
After carrying out the murder, the assailant went on a rant caught on camera, which saw him bawling “Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria!”
The assassination, condemned by the Turkish and Russian leaders as an attempt to sour Ankara-Moscow ties, came amid cooperation between the countries over the Syrian crisis.
On December 21, 2016, Turkish-language Hurriyet daily newspaper identified Altintas as a member of the team providing security for Erdogan.
The paper said he had served in the taskforce ensuring that no harm would come to the head of state in public events. The group played second fiddle to Erdogan’s personal bodyguards.
Altintas had provided security for the Turkish president eight times since the botched putsch against Erdogan. Over all, he had served two and a half years in anti-riot police.
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