Khashoggi died at consulate after a brawl
STATESPONSORED? Saudi attorney general released a statement claiming the scribe entered into a fist fight but did not disclose information about the body RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia admitted on Saturday that critic Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its Istanbul consulate, saying he died during a “brawl”, an explanation that President Donald Trump called credible but drew scepticism from top US lawmakers.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor and critic of the Islamic petro-state’s powerful crown prince, was last seen on October 2 entering his country’s consulate in Istanbul.
His disappearance had been shrouded in mystery and tipped Saudi Arabia into one of its worst international crises, with Turkish officials accusing it of carrying out a state-sponsored killing and dismembering the body.
The admission - after persistent claims by the Saudi authorities that Khashoggi had left the consulate alive - came amid the threat of US sanctions and appears aimed at distancing Prince Mohammed from the affair.
In the latest version of events from Riyadh, Saudi Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said Khashoggi died after talks at the consulate degenerated into an altercation. He did not disclose the whereabouts of the journalist’s body.
“Discussions that took place between him and the persons who met him... at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul led to a brawl and a fistfight with the citizen, Jamal Khashoggi, which led to his death, may his soul rest in peace,” the attorney general said in a statement.
‘PRINCE NOT INVOLVED’
Saudi officials have roundly denied that Prince Mohammed had any involvement.
But one suspect identified by Turkey was said to be a frequent companion of the young heir to the throne, three others were linked to his security detail and a fifth is a high-level forensic specialist, according to The New York Times.
In a recent off-the-record interview published posthumously by US magazine Newsweek, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi enters the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul to receive documents for his upcoming marriage Khashoggi is a critic of Saudi King Salman and the Crown Prince Saudi delegation arrives in Turkey for talks on the disappearance of Khashoggi Khashoggi described the 33-year-old as “an old-fashioned tribal leader” out of touch with the Saudi poor.
But the onetime royal insider said he would have accepted an offer to work as the prince’s adviser. “I’m not calling for the overthrow of the regime, because I know it’s not possible,” he said. “I’m just calling for reform of the regime.”
Saudi Arabia’s admission comes after Turkish authorities widened their probe on Friday, searching a forest in Istanbul The Washington Post and Kashoggi’s fiancee Hatice Cengiz raise the alarm, say Kashoggi has not been seen since entering the consulate Turkish authorities say they believe he is still at the consulate Saudi minister claims orders to kill Khashoggi were “baseless allegations” CCTV footage shows a jet alleged to have ferried a group of Saudi men at Ataturk airport on October 2 Saudi Arabia says that he disappeared after he left the building
The Saudi ambassador is summoned to the Turkish foreign Turkish forensic office enters consulate
US President Donald Trump sends Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Saudi Arabia to discuss the issue where the body might have been dumped.
Pro-government Turkish media have repeatedly claimed that Khashoggi was tortured and decapitated by a Saudi hit squad, although Turkey has yet to divulge investigation details.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Trump ally, said he doubted the latest admission from Saudi authorities. “To say that I am sceptical of the new Saudi narrative about Mr Khashoggi is an understatement,” he tweeted. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says that Khashoggi is not in the consulate and “we are ready to welcome the Turkish government to go and search our premises” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh to discuss Khashoggi’s disappearance Government sources say Turkish police believe Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate Pompeo meets Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu Turkey seeks permission to search the consulate. No search reported Senior ministers from Britain, France and the Netherlands, and US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin pull out of a major investment conference in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia says consulate cameras were not working on October 2. No search is reported US President Donald
Trump says “it certainly looks” like missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is dead and warned of “severe” consequences if the Saudi government is found responsible for it