‘Proof of Khashoggi fate inside consulate’
EXPLOSIVE A highlevel Turkish official says police have found ‘certain evidence’ during search of the Saudi consulate
: A high-level Turkish official said on Tuesday police have found “certain evidence” during their search of the Saudi consulate showing that Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi was killed there.
The official did not provide details on the evidence that was recovered during the hours-long search at the diplomatic mission that ended early on Tuesday.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly about the investigation.
Turkish officials say Saudi agents killed and dismembered the writer at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
Saudi Arabia previously called the allegation “baseless,” but US media reports suggest the Saudis may soon acknowledge Khashoggi was killed there, perhaps as part of a botched interrogation.
Earlier, Turkey’s foreign minister said consulates shouldn’t be places where people are interrogated.
Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia hadn’t offered any confession to Turkey over its alleged involvement in the disappearance and feared slaying of Khashoggi.
Asked about a New York Times report that Saudi Arabia might say Khashoggi was killed
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in an interrogation gone wrong, Cavusoglu said: “We have not received such information.”
He added: “Consulates aren’t places to hold interrogations. Interrogations should take place in courts, (by) judiciary authorities.”
Cavusoglu also confirmed that Turkish authorities would search the Saudi consul’s residence in Istanbul and vehicles belonging to the consulate. He offered no timeframe for those searches.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the disappearance of Khashoggi, who went into a self-imposed exile in the United States amid Prince Mohammed’s rise.
Meanwhile, France’s foreign minister warned of possible “consequences” for the disappearance and suspected slaying of Khashoggi.
Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday called the disappearance “extremely serious” and said France is pushing, with other countries, for “the greatest clarity on what took place.”
He added that “if these alleged serious actions were committed, there should be consequences.”
In a related development, Dutch finance minister Wopke Hoekstra said in Amsterdam on Tuesday that he will most likely not attend a conference in Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi went missing. Hoekstra told the Dutch parliament that if there is no clarification from Riyadh, “it is unlikely I will go.”