MOSCOW—A U.S.-based Muslim cleric on Thursday condemned the killing of Russia’s envoy to Turkey and rejected accusations that his movement was behind the attack.
Ambassador Andrei Karlov was shot dead by an off-duty policeman in front of stunned onlookers at a photo exhibition in Ankara earlier this week. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has implicated Fethullah Gulen in the killing, saying the policeman had links to his movement.
In a video address made available to The Associated Press, Gulen accused the Turkish government of blaming and defaming his movement and suggested the government would facilitate other assassinations and blame them on his followers.
The wife of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov who was assassinated Monday, cries over her husband's coffin, draped in the Russian flag, during a ceremony at the airport in Ankara, Turkey, on Dec, 20, 2016. AP Photo/ Emrah Gurel
