Turkey begins trial over Russian ambassador's killing

The trial opened on Tuesday against 28 people accused of involvement in the 2016 killing of Russia's ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov.

Among the 28 accused is Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, the US-based religious leader blamed by Ankara for a failed coup in 2016 same year.

Turkish prosecutors say Gulen's network was behind the killing, which they say aimed to derail relations between Turkey and Russia. Nine people were arrested, while others, including Gulen, are being tried in absentia.

An off-duty police officer fatally shot Russian envoy Andrei Karlov at a photography exhibition in Ankara on 19 December 2016.

The gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar" and "Don't forget Aleppo!" as he opened fire, apparently in reference to Russia's brutal military campaign at opposition forces in neighbouring Syria. The gunman was shot dead by police at the scene.

Following the shooting, Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici won the 2017 World Press Photo competition for his image of the gun-wielding policeman standing over Karlov's lifeless body.

Russia's embassy in Ankara expressed fury over the award, calling the awarding panel's decision a "complete degradation of ethics and moral values".