Turkey charges 28, including FETÖ head, for 2016 murder of Russian ambassador

The investigation into the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov has been completed, and an indictment has been submitted to court.

Turkey indicted 28 suspects, including Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) leader Fetullah Gülen on Friday.

The indictment lists senior FETÖ members Şerif Ali Tekelan, Emrullah Uslu and Şahın Söğut as well as Abdulsamet Kekeç, Ahmet Kılınçarslan, Ayşe Söğüt, Bilal Dereli, Burak Yusmak, Cemal Karaata, Cengiz Özkan, Doğukan Söylemez, Hamza Sevinç, Hasan Tunç, Hayreddin Aydınbaş, Hüseyin Kötüce, Kaan Bülbül, Kadir Şamlı, Murat Tokay, Mustafa Timur Özkan, Oğuzhan Öztürk, Ramazan Yücel, Salih Yılmaz, Sefa Kurnaz, Sercan Başar, Temel Alsancak, Ufuk Gül and Vehbi Kürşad Akalın as suspects.

The suspects are accused of violating constitutional order, being members of an armed terror group, and deliberate killing to meet terror aims.

The indictment says the assassination committed by FETÖ, which it dubs a spy organization, was an act of provocation targeting Turkey-Russia relations.

Karlov’s wife Marina Mihaylovna Karlova and Anıl Değer, Leyla Gündoğan and Anastas Zimrikaki, who were wounded during the incident, were listed as plaintiffs in the indictment.

The indictment revealed an earlier attempt by FETÖ to assassinate Karlov, stating that the terror group planned another assassination about six months before the murder.

According to the indictment, Russian envoy Karlov was among the invitees of a June 27, 2016 iftar (fast-breaking dinner) program for ambassadors.

Altıntaş was going to sneak into the premises -- where the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party had scheduled the dinner -- disguised as a security police officer upon the assassination instructions from FETÖ.

The indictment said in order to avoid suspicion, Altıntaş was going to use a collar badge worn by the staff of the Prime Ministry, but the assassination attempt failed as Karlov was abroad on that day.

Andrei Karlov was assassinated on Dec. 19, 2016 by Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, an off-duty police officer with links to the FETÖ terrorist group, which also orchestrated the July 15 coup attempt two years ago.

Karlov was delivering a speech at the Contemporary Arts Gallery in Ankara's central Çankaya district when the assassin opened fire on the diplomat, critically wounding him.

He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Altıntaş was killed in a subsequent shootout with police in the gallery.

A total of 249 people were martyred and nearly 2,200 injured in the July 15, 2016 failed coup which was perpetrated by FETÖ, led by ringleader Fetullah Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania.

Gülen pursued a long-running campaign to overthrow the Turkish government through the infiltration of state institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.