Karlov assassin received order from FETÖ 'covert imam'

The assassinator of Russia's ambassador to Turkey received orders on the assassination from a Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) "covert imam" 10 days before the assassination, according to the Ankara Public Prosecutor's indictment.

On Friday, Turkish prosecutors indicted 28 suspects, including the terror group's ringleader Fetullah Gülen, and other senior FETÖ members, concluding a two-year investigation.

According to the indictment on Karlov's assassination, former Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) employee Şahin Söğüt was "covert imam" of the assasin Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş in FETÖ terror group's hierarchy.

The indictment included that Altıntaş and Söğüt communicated via their social media and e-mail accounts.

Before 10 days of the assasination, Söğüt and Altıntaş communicated and Altıntaş got instructions which he had to do regarding the assasination, the indictment said.

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

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred 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.