Second suspect arrested over assassination of Russian envoy Karlov

ISTANBUL

A former employee of Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) was arrested late on Jan. 12 over the assassination of former Russian Ambassador to Ankara Andrey Karlov.

Karlov died after being shot multiple times at an art exhibition in Ankara on Dec. 19, 2016.

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

On Jan. 12, a former BTK worker was arrested, a security official, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.

A court in Ankara later remanded the suspect in custody on the charge of “association in plotting manslaughter,” the source added.

Earlier, six people were arrested, including three police officers, Guru Media Broadcast Group Chairman Hayreddin Aydınbaş and organizer of the exhibition, Mustafa Timur Özkan.

The assassination came at a time when Turkish-Russian relations had newly improved after a diplomatic crisis.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin described the shooting as a “provocation” designed to undermine bilateral ties.

Putin last December signed an executive order awarding Karlov the title of “Hero” of the Russian Federation.