Former policeman remanded over Russian envoy murder

By Tanju Ozkaya and Serdar Acil

ANKARA

A former Turkish police officer was remanded in custody on Thursday in connection with the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Ankara in December 2016, according to a judicial source.

A court in Ankara remanded in custody Ufuk G. for being "a member of terrorist organization," the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The source added that G. denied accusations in the court and said he had no ties with the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Mevlut Mert Altintas, the Russian envoy’s late assassin, and G. are said to graduate from the same police college and they were affiliated with the same senior FETO member.

Karlov died after being shot multiple times at an art exhibition in Ankara on Dec. 19, in 2016. He was delivering a speech when the assailant, 22-year-old Turkish policeman Altintas, opened fire.

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

Ankara also 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.