A fugitive senior FETÖ member who was among the planners of the 2016 assassination of Russia’s then-Ambassador to Ankara, Andrey Karlov, changed his name to evade authorities and currently resides in Canada, Turkish security sources said on Jan. 16.
On Dec. 19, 2016, Turkish police officer Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş opened fire and killed the Russian ambassador during a speech at an art exhibition in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Altıntaş was subsequently killed in a shootout with police. In the ensuing trial, an Ankara court determined that Altıntaş had been part of a secret FETÖ cell within the Turkish police.
Cemal Karaata, one of the individuals embedded within Türkiye’s intelligence structures by FETÖ, was identified as a planner of the assassination.
Security sources revealed on Jan. 16 that Karaata changed his name to Salih Ada.
Having wanted under a red notice in Türkiye, Karaata’s name change allowed him to avoid detection by Turkish security services, and he was found to be living in Canada.
One of the primary motivations behind Karaata’s name change was fear of abduction by Russian authorities, the sources said.
Karaata maintained periodic contact with Canadian security agencies, the sources added.
According to security sources, under the new name, he was employed as a psychotherapist at “Qualia Counselling Services,” located at “Waterloo The Boardwalk Suite 406,” working with patients on anxiety, depression and anger management.
Before fleeing, Karaata, who used the code names “Sadık” and “Yavuz,” served as an assistant professor in the English Department at Fatih University in Türkiye, which has since been closed.
As a senior member of FETÖ, Karaata masked his espionage activities behind his academic role, the sources said.
FETÖ orchestrated the failed coup attempt in Türkiye on July 15, 2016, which claimed over 250 lives and left more than 2,700 people injured.
The organization infiltrated critical state institutions, including ministries, the military and the judiciary, strategically positioning its members. After the coup attempt, thousands of members were removed from their posts.
Fethullah Gülen, the founder of FETÖ, died in October 2024 in Pennsylvania, United States, at the age of 83. He had lived on a sprawling estate in Pennsylvania for over two decades, which served as the operational headquarters for the terrorist network.
