Türkiye detains new suspect in murder case of Russian envoy

Turkish security services have detained another suspect in the case of the murder of the Russian ambassador to Ankara, Andrey Karlov.

According to Hurriyet newspaper, the wife of an acquaintance of Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, a former policeman who attacked Karlov in 2016 and was eliminated at the scene, has been taken into custody.

The publication quoted police sources as saying that the woman was a member of FETO, an organisation of the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, which is considered a terrorist organisation in Türkiye. The full name of the woman and her husband, who allegedly knew Karlov's killer, is not specified. Only their initials, A.S. and S.S., respectively, are given.

The operation to detain the woman was carried out in Istanbul. The newspaper does not give any other details.

Russian Ambassador to Türkiye Andrey Karlov was assassinated in Ankara on December 19, 2016. The assassination attempt took place at the moment when he was making a speech at the opening of the photo exhibition "Russia through the eyes of Turks".

According to Turkish security agencies, the attack was carried out by 22-year-old Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş. At the entrance to the Centre for Contemporary Art, where the exhibition was held, he showed a police ID card, which he kept after his dismissal. He was released from law enforcement service on suspicion of involvement in a coup attempt. The shooter was eliminated by the security service on the spot.

The court verdict on the murder of Andrey Karlov was announced in March 2021. Five people were sentenced to life imprisonment, eight others received five to 15 years in prison, and six defendants were acquitted. The cases of the remaining defendants were separated into separate proceedings.