Saudi prosecutor in Istanbul for probe
Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor arrived in Istanbul on Monday as part of an investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Prosecutor Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb was expected to meet with chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan and visit the Saudi consulate where the writer was killed.
The case has brought near unprecedented international scrutiny on Saudi Arabia, which is seeking to draw a line under the crisis after offering a series of differing narratives in the weeks following the murder.
The 59-year-old Washington Post contributor, who had criticized Riyadh, vanished after entering the Saudi consulate on Oct 2 to obtain paperwork for his marriage to his Turkish fiancee.
Reports in the Turkish media have alleged he was killed and dismembered by a team sent from Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi prosecutor traveled to Istanbul after acknowledging last week that the killing was “premeditated”, based on the evidence of a Turkish investigation.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday that Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir had vowed Riyadh would conduct a “full” investigation.
“We discussed it, ... the need of transparency, full and complete investigation. Full agreement from FM Jubeir, no reservations at all,” Mattis said following talks in Bahrain.
He said he was confident that the Saudi investigation would include Turkey’s findings.
Riyadh has arrested 18 men over the murder and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has requested they be extradited for trial in Turkey.
Riyadh has dismissed the request, saying they will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia.
The body of Khashoggi, who was once an insider in Saudi royal circles, remains missing.
Erdogan, who has stopped short of directly blaming the Saudi government, has called on Riyadh to reveal the location of the body, indicating that his country had more evidence to reveal about the killing.
Turkey has said it shared information regarding the investigation with other countries, including the United States, Germany, France and Russia.
Reuters and AFP contributed to this story.