Cleric linked to Cincy charter school rejects blame in envoy's killing
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.
Gulen said "it is not possible for them to convince the world of such accusations."
In October, a report from an international law firm hired by the Turkish government stated Gulen’s worldwide network includes the Horizon Science Academy in Bond Hill, which is under state and federal scrutiny.
The network also includes 16 other charter schools in Ohio, according to the law firm Amsterdam & Partners.
The firm accused the Gulen schools of a real-estate scam that had resulted in a profit of $18.8 million on the backs of Ohio taxpayers.
Russia flew a team of 18 investigators and foreign ministry officials to Turkey to participateCleric linked to Cincy charter school rejects blame in envoy's killing: