By Baris Kilic, Serdar Acil</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Twenty-eight suspects on Tuesday went on trial in Turkey’s capital Ankara over the December 2016 assassination of Russian ambassador.</p> <p>Andrey Karlov was assassinated at an Ankara art gallery opening on Dec. 19, 2016 by Mevlut Mert Altintas, an off-duty police officer linked to FETO terrorist organization. During a standoff, Altintas was shot dead by police. </p> <p>Twenty-eight suspects — including Fetullah Gulen, the U.S.-based leader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) — were indicted for violating the constitutional order, being a member of a terror group, and murder with terrorist intent.</p> <p>A group of foreign media members is also following the hearing.</p> <p>In December, the court had accepted the indictment that recommended various jail terms — including aggravated life sentences — for 28 suspects, including Gulen.</p> <p>Underlining FETO’s involvement, the indictment stated that the group plotted the murder — originally planned for June — as a "provocation” to harm Turkish-Russian relations ahead of the defeated coup of July 2016 as well as to sow chaos in Turkey.</p> <p>Marina Mihaylovna Karlova, wife of deceased Russian envoy, along with three others were involved in an indictment as plaintiffs.</p> <p>FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured. </p> <p>Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
