CHP leader calls on gov’t to investigate links of Karlov murderer

ANKARA

The government should work to find the instigator of the murderer of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov, killed in Ankara on Dec. 19, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said.

“I convey my condolences to the family of Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov, who we lost in a traitorous assassination, and to our friends the Russian people,” Kılıçdaroğlu posted on his official Twitter account on Dec. 20, before calling the government to uncover the ties of the murderer.

“The fact that the person who killed Karlov was a police officer is also a point that we need to stress,” he said on the same day in a speech at his party’s group meeting, referring to the gunman Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, a police officer who was reportedly off-duty on that day. 

“Another point we need to keep in mind is that he was not captured alive. He was killed. Why did you not catch him alive?” Kılıçdaroğlu said, calling on the government to investigate the links that led the killer to commit the crime.

“We need to find the instigators of the murder, not the murderer. We fiercely condemn and call out the government: Find the perpetrators and bring them to the justice,” he added.

Karlov was shot dead during an art exhibition in the Turkish capital Ankara on the eve of critical talks in Moscow bringing together Turkey, Russia, and Iran for a discussion on Aleppo and the future of the Syrian conflict. Karlov was shot as he was giving a speech at the event, while at least three people were also injured in the attack.