Turkey completes probe on 2016 Russian envoy murder

By Serdar Acil, Baris Kilic, Ismet Karakas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish prosecutors have completed investigation into the 2016 assassination of a Russian ambassador to Ankara, judicial sources said Friday.

Twenty-eight suspects, including Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) leader Fetullah Gulen, were indicted, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Also senior FETO members Serif Ali Tekalan, Emrullah Uslu and Sahin Sogut were indicted.

The indictment has been submitted to an Ankara court.

The suspects are accused of violation of constitutional order, being member of an armed terror group, and deliberate killing with objective of spreading terror.

In addition, the indictment says the assassination is an act of provocation targeting Turkey-Russia relations.

Andrei Karlov was assassinated at an Ankara art gallery on Dec. 19, 2016 by Mevlut Mert Altintas, an off-duty police officer linked to FETO. He was shot dead by police.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 that martyred 251 people and injured nearly 2,200 others.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.