Saudi prosecutor met with Turkish intelligence on Khashoggi: report

Saudi Arabia’s chief public prosecutor met members of Turkey’s intelligence agency overnight as part of an investigation into the murder of journalist and Riyadh critic Jamal Khashoggi, local media reported on Wednesday.

Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb, who traveled to Istanbul this week, left his hotel around 9:10 pm GMT on Tuesday escorted by a convoy and went to the regional head offices of the Turkish Intelligence Organization, the private DHA news agency reported.

There was no immediate information on what was discussed.

Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Washington Post contributor, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain paperwork ahead of his upcoming wedding. His body has not yet been found.

The case has brought near unprecedented international scrutiny on Saudi Arabia and its powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, whom Khashoggi had criticized.

After weeks of shifting official narratives, Saudi Arabia has said the journalist was killed by a “rogue operation” and arrested 18 people allegedly connected to his death.

Mojeb was the first Saudi official to acknowledge that the killing was “premeditated” based on the results of Turkey’s investigation.

He met with Istanbul chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan twice this week and visited the consulate – the scene of the murder – on Tuesday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly called on Riyadh to reveal the location of the body, as well as who ordered the hit.

Abdulkadir Selvi, a well-connected pro-government columnist in Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper, said the Saudi prosecutor refused to share any information with the Turkish authorities during his visit.

“It seems the Saudi prosecutor is trying to obtain the information in the hands of Turkey rather than share the information he has,” Selvi wrote Wednesday.

He also claimed that Mojeb was in pursuit of Khashoggi’s phone, which the journalist handed to his Turkish fiancee before entering the consulate.