Erdogan claims Khashoggi’s ‘savage killing’ was planned
TURKEY’S president yesterday dismissed Saudi Arabia’s efforts to blame the killing of a prominent journalist on rogue operatives, calling it a planned, “savage killing,” and demanded Riyadh punish those responsible no matter how highly placed.
Tayyip Erdogan stopped short of mentioning Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who some US lawmakers suspect ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
But Erdogan said the person who ordered Khashoggi’s death must “be brought to account.”
Turkish officials suspect Khashoggi, a US resident and critic of the crown prince, was killed and dismembered inside the consulate by Saudi agents on October 2.
“Intelligence and security institutions have evidence showing the murder was planned,” Erdogan said in parliament. “Pinning such a case on some security and intelligence members will not satisfy us or the international community,” he said. “The Saudi administration has taken an important step by admitting to the murder. From now on, we expect them to uncover all those responsible for this matter from top to bottom and make them face the necessary punishments,” Erdogan said. “From the person who gave the order, to the person who carried it out, they must all be brought to account.”
Riyadh initially denied knowledge of Khashoggi’s fate before saying he was killed in a fight in the consulate. The kingdom has since substantially changed parts of its official narrative about the killing, deepening international concern. A host of Western executives and governments have pulled out of a high-profile Saudi investment summit that started yesterday.
A Saudi cabinet meeting chaired by King Salman said Riyadh would hold to account those responsible for the killing and those who failed in their duties, whoever they were. The king and crown prince received Khashoggi family members including his son Salah bin Jamal Khashoggi in Riyadh, state news agency SPA reported.
The murder was planned, Erdogan said, from the time when the 59-year-old Khashoggi first went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents necessary for his marriage on September 28. He was told he would need to come back later to collect the documents.
On October 1, a day before Khashoggi was killed, agents arrived from overseas and began to scout locations, including the Belgrad Forest near Ankara and the city of Yalova to its south, Erdogan said.
On the day Khashoggi arrived for his appointment and was later killed, the hard disk in the consulate’s camera system was removed, Erdogan said.
“Covering up a savage murder like this will only hurt the human conscience. We expect the same sensitivity from all parties, primarily the Saudi Arabian leadership. We have strong signs that the murder was the result of a planned operation, not a spontaneous development.”