Chechen leader in Ankara 'killed for $1 million'

A man who is suspected of involvement in the killing of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria?s honorary consul in Ankara in 2013 told friends that his group committed the crime for $1 million, a witness has told the court.

Medet Ünlü, 53, was killed by armed assailants at the honorary consulate in Ankara on May 22, 2013.

Turkish citizen Murat Aluç was arrested as the main suspect on Oct. 11, 2014. He confessed to the crime, claiming that pro-Russian Chechens in Turkey ?promised him a life in Ukraine? for the assassination.

Ö.?., another detained suspect who is accused of hiding Aluç from law enforcement for months, was released by the court pending trial, despite the prosecutor?s request that he be arrested.

A witness told the prosecutor in Ankara on Jan. 28 that Aluç was wearing a different hat every time he left Ö.??s house during his time as a fugitive following the murder, daily Hürriyet has learned.

?We killed Medet Ünlü for $1 million. We were planning to kill five more people from this neighborhood, but the balloon burst,? the witness quoted Ö.?. as angrily yelling at a local cafe, according to the testimony.

Goldsmith in Istanbul probed

Aluç told the prosecutor that he received $40,000 from a goldsmith in Istanbul?s Beyaz?t neighborhood for the killing.

The Prosecutor?s Office in Istanbul is probing the claim, while the investigation in Ankara is continuing.

Meanwhile, the family of Ünlü has filed a new complaint after the latest testimonies, demanding the released suspects in the case to be arrested.

The family claims that Aluç was hired by a Russian citizen who returned to Russia two days after the murder.

Ünlü was against Russian military operations...