Mevlut Mert Altintas (24 June 1994-19 December 2016) was a Turkish policeman who assassinated Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov at an Ankara art exhibition in December 2016 due to Russia's involvement in the Battle of Aleppo.
Biography[]
Mevlut Mert Altintas was born in Soke, Aydin Province, Turkey on 24 June 1994 to a family of secular Sunni Muslim Turks. Altintas joined the Turkish riot police in the capital of Ankara, and he harbored Islamist views; he was infuriated by Russia's intervention in the Syrian Civil War, which saw the Russian Air Force bomb civilian areas in Aleppo and elsewhere. On 19 December 2016, Altintas attended an art exhibition at the Cagdas Sanat Merkezi modern arts center, where Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov was going to give the opening speech. Altintas interrupted the speech and shot the ambassador at point-black range, shouting, "Allahu akbar! Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria!". The attacker was then gunned down by policemen as he shouted at witnesses to the crime. His family refused to accept his body, claiming that he was a traitor who they were ashamed of.