'˜Controversial' image of Turkish assassin wins Photo of the Year

Standing with his left arm aloft, his right cradling the pistol with which he has just shot Andrey Karlov nine times, Mevlüt Mert AltıntaÅŸ screams 'Don't forget Aleppo, don't forget Syria.'

The overall winner of Andrey Karlovs assassination by Mevlüt Mert Alt1nta_ by Burhan Ozbilicis. Picture: AP

The Russian ambassador to Turkey lies motionless on the floor next to him after the 22-year-old committed what the Russia’s foreign ministry called a “terrorist attack.”

Burhan Ozbilici, the man who captured the horrifying moment, made it out of the gallery in the heart of the Turkish capital alive. Meanwhile Altıntaş, was shot dead after a 15-minute shootout with police inside the Ankara Centre of Contemporary Art.

The image has been chosen as the Photo of the Year in the 2017 World Press Photo contest. Judges of the 60th annual awards praised the courage of Özbilici, a photographer for the Associated Press in Turkey.

But the decision proved controversial, with the awards’ jury chair, Stuart Franklin, criticising the choice, saying it “reaffirms the compact between martyrdom and publicity”.

Over 80,000 images taken by 5,034 photographers in 125 different countries were submitted to the judging panel with awards handed out in a number of categories, with the image of Karlov’s assassination was the overall winner.

There was a distinctly humanitarian theme to this year’s winners, as Ameer Alhalbi won second place in the spot news stories section for “Rescued From The Rubble,” showing two men carrying babies through the decimated streets of Aleppo.

There was recognition too for Mathieu Willcocks, whose image of two migrants being rescued from the Mediterranean won third prize in the same category.

Tomás Munita won first place in the daily life stories for his depiction of a barber shop in old Havana, while Antonio Gibotta was second with a striking image of the “floured war” in Alicante, Spain.

Francis Perez won the Nature (Singles) prize for his image of a sea turtle caught in a fishing net off the coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, while Kai Oliver Pfaffenbach scooped third place in the Sports (singles) category for capturing a smiling Usain Bolt dominating the competition in the hundred-metre semi-final in Rio.

The winning entries have traditionally gone on display at the Scottish Parliament.