Senior FETÖ suspect remanded over Russian envoy murder

A former civil servant and suspected senior member of Fetullah Terrorist Organization was remanded in custody on Friday in connection with the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey in December 2016, according to a judicial source.

A court in Ankara remanded in custody Sahin Sogut, 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 Mevlut Mert Altintas, the Russian envoy’s late assassin.

Sogut used his right to remain silent in the court, the source said on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media.

Sogut was arrested by security units in Ankara on Thursday as part of an investigation conducted by Ankara’s Public Prosecutor Adem Akinci.

He was found to be a user of ByLock, an encrypted cellphone app used by coup plotters, according to a security source.

The suspect is also believed to be responsible for deleting Altintas's e-mails and for conveying the terror group's instructions to him and organizing the assassination, the source added.

Andrey Karlov was assassinated at an Ankara art gallery on Dec. 19, 2016 by Altintas, an off-duty police officer linked to the FETÖ terrorist group who was shot dead by police that day.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 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.