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TURKEY-ASSASSINATION-AMBASSADOR
Turkey completes investigation into assassination of Russian ambassador
MOSCOW, Nov 16, 2018 (BSS /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.
BSS/TASS/MRI/0851 hrs