Canadian spy chief hears audio recording of Khashoggi slaying

Feds mulling response to Saudis, Trudeau says

PARIS — Canada’s spy chief travelled to Turkey at the request of the prime minister and heard a recording of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service says.

CSIS director David Vigneault “has listened to the audio tapes in question” and provided a briefing to Justin Trudeau and other Canadian officials upon his return, said John Townsend, a spokesman for the intelligence service.

Trudeau said Monday in Paris he has not personally heard the recording that Turkish officials have also provided to allies such as the U.S. and Britain in recent days, though he said he had been told about its contents.

“Canada has been fully briefed up on what Turkey had to share,” Trudeau said during a news conference at the Canadian Embassy in Paris.

The development is the latest piece of a gradually unfolding investigation into the death that has reverberated through the international community.

Khashoggi’s killing last month at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul strained an already difficult relationship with Canada and renewed public outrage over Ottawa’s $15-billion arms deal with the regime.

Canada has joined other countries in applying pressure on Riyadh to provide better answers about what happened to the journalist.

Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen but a resident of the United States who was critical of the Saudi monarchy, was last seen entering the consulate in Turkey on Oct. 2, where he’d gone to get papers to marry his fiancée.

His killing has prompted widespread condemnation, including from Trudeau, but the prime minister did not say how the recordings have affected his thoughts on repercussions for the Saudis.

“We continue to be engaged with our allies on the investigation into accountability for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and we are in discussion with our like-minded allies as to next steps toward Saudi Arabia,” Trudeau said.

The shared audio is the latest move by Turkey to maintain international pressure on Saudi Arabia over the killing.

Trudeau said he brought the subject up during a recent phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and briefly again when the two met on the weekend in Paris. Trudeau said he “thanked [Erdogan] for his strength in responding to the Khashoggi situation.”

Also Monday, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt was in Saudi Arabia, where he met King Salman and was expected to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The crown prince is widely suspected of at least having knowledge of the killing, which involved members of his security entourage. Hunt — the first British minister to visit Saudi Arabia since Khashoggi was killed — said he would press the kingdom to co-operate with a Turkish investigation into the writer’s killing.

Under mounting pressure, Saudi Arabia has changed its story about the death, first saying Khashoggi walked out of the consulate the day he disappeared but eventually acknowledging he died inside. Saudi Arabia has also recently acknowledged Turkish evidence that showed the slaying was premeditated.

Turkey alleges that a 15-member Saudi assassination squad strangled and dismembered Khashoggi at the consulate.

Saudi officials characterize the killing as a rogue operation carried out by Saudi agents who exceeded their authority.