Russian embassy criticizes award for photo of envoy to Turkey killing

The Russian Embassy in Ankara has expressed anger over the awarding of the prestigious World Press Photo Award for an image of an Turkish policeman assassinating the Russian envoy to Turkey last year.

The decision by the jury was "demoralizing" and showed "complete degradation of ethics and moral values," the Russian embassy said Tuesday in a statement on its official Facebook page.

"Propaganda of the horror of terrorism is unacceptable," it added.

The controversial image, which was taken by Burhan Ozbilici, a photographer for the Associated Press, also winning first prize in the spot news stories category, captured off-duty Turkish police officer shouting while holding a gun after shooting Russian envoy.

Mevlut Mert Altintas, the 22-year-old Turkish police officer, drew a handgun and shot Andrei Karlov dead at a photo exhibition in Ankara on Dec. 19, 2016.

Altintas was killed at the scene by the security forces. Three more people were injured in the shooting.

Meanwhile, the head of the foreign affairs committee of the Russian senate Konstantin Kosachev said the choice was "on the edge of morality," RIA Novosti reported.

Alexei Pushkov, chief of the information policy committee in Russian parliament, slammed on his Twitter account that this is "a moral mistake."

Ozbilici's images of the ambassador's assassination appeared on newspaper front pages worldwide and were shared widely on social media.

The World Press Photo competition is judged by a jury of internationally recognized photography professionals. The winners were announced on Monday at a press conference in Amsterdam. Endit