Ankara court issues arrest warrants for Karlov murder

By Baris Kilic and Zafer Fatih Beyaz

ANKARA

An Ankara court on Monday issued arrest warrants for eight people, including FETO terror group leader Fetullah Gulen, who are suspected to be linked to the 2016 assassination of Russian envoy Andrey Karlov, .

According to judicial sources who cannot be named due to restrictions on talking to media, the arrest warrants came after a link between Karlov's assassin Mert Altintas and Fetullah Gulen was detected.

Reasons cited for the arrest warrants include "pre-meditated murder" and "attempt to overthrow constitutional order".

According to the judicial sources, evidence and witness statements allowed the investigative bureau to suspect FETO members in security headquarters.

The warrants target Fetullah Gulen, Serif Ali Tekalan, Cemal Karaata, Cengiz Ozkan, Emrullah Uslu, Hamza Sevinc, Murat Tokay and Temel Alsancak.

Andrey Karlov was assassinated at an art exhibition in the Turkish capital, Ankara on Dec. 19, 2016.

He was delivering a speech when the assailant, 22-year-old Turkish policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas, opened fire.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that martyred 250 people and left nearly 2,200 injured.

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