Turkey arrests one more in Russian envoy murder case

ANKARA

One more person was arrested in connection with the assassination of Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov by an Ankara court order on Aug. 13.

The individual identified as A.S. is the wife of S.S., formerly employed by the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA), also identified as a senior Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) member and the superior of Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, the Russian envoy’s late assassin.

S.S. was arrested in April, while his wife A.S. was also identified as a suspect due to using the FETÖ’s encrypted messaging app ByLock and having worked at FETÖ-linked companies, state-run Anadolu Agency has said.

Andrey Karlov was assassinated at an Ankara art gallery on Dec. 19, 2016 by Altıntaş, an off-duty police officer believed to be linked to the FETÖ. Altıntaş was shot dead by police during a standoff.

In January, another former ICTA civil servant was detained and remanded in custody on charges of association in plotting manslaughter, according to security sources.

Late last year, six people were arrested over the assassination, including three police officers, Guru Media Broadcast Group Chairman Hayreddin Aydınbaş, and Mustafa Timur Özkan, who organized the art exhibit.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fethullah Gülen are widely believed to have orchestrated the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured.

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