Journo killed in Istanbul’s Saudi consulate?
Erdogan says he is awaiting results of the investigation
Istanbul, Oct. 7: Turkish police believe Saudi journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, a government source said, but Riyadh denied the claim.
The Washington Post contributor, 59, vanished after an appointment with Saudi officials on Tuesday. “Based on their initial findings, the police believe that the journalist was killed by a team especially sent to Istanbul and who left the same day,” the government source told AFP on Saturday.
The police said earlier that around 15 Saudis, including officials, arrived in Istanbul on two flights on Tuesday and were at the consulate at the same time as Khashoggi.
Later, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said he was awaiting the results of the investigation into the disappearance. The journalist went to the building to obtain official documents but “did not come back out”, the police were quoted as saying by Turkey’s staterun Anadolu news agency. Ankara announced on Saturday it had opened an official probe into his disappearance.
The state- run Saudi Press Agency quoted an unnamed official at the Istanbul consulate as denying the reports of Khashoggi’s murder.
“The official strongly denounced these baseless allegations,” the agency wrote. It said a team of Saudi investigators were
The Washington Post contributor, 59, vanished after an appointment with Saudi officials on Tuesday Khashoggi has been critical of some policies of Saudi Crown Prince Salman
in Turkey working with local authorities. Reacting to the news, the journalist’s Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, said on Twitter she was “waiting for an official confirmation from the Turkish government to believe it”
Khashoggi had gone to the consulate to receive an official document for their marriage. In his newspaper columns, Khashoggi has been critical of some policies of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Riyadh’s intervention in the war in Yemen. The former government adviser, who turns 60 on October 13, has lived in selfimposed exile in the United States since last year to avoid possible arrest. Yasin Aktay, an official in Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party ( AKP) who was close to the journalist, said Khashoggi had made an appointment in advance with the consulate and called to check the documents were ready.
“His friends had warned him, ‘ Don’t go there, it is not safe,’ but he said they could not do anything to him in Turkey,” said Aktay.
He added that he still hoped the reports of his friend’s death were untrue.
Prince Mohammed said in an interview published by Bloomberg on Friday that the journalist had left the consulate and Turkish authorities could search the building, which is Saudi sovereign territory. “We are ready to welcome the Turkish government to go and search
our premises,” he said. “We have nothing to hide.” Turkey’s foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned Saudi Arabia’s ambassador over the issue.
The New York- based Committee to Protect Journalists demanded Riyadh give “a full and credible account” of what happened to Khashoggi inside the consulate. Reporters Without Borders ( RSF) said on Twitter that if reports of his death were confirmed, “this would constitute a horrific, utterly deplorable, and absolutely unacceptable assault on press freedom”. OSCE media freedom representative Harlem Desir said on Twitter that he was “shocked” by the claims.
“If confirmed, that’s an unprecedented crime against journalists. I trust Turkey authorities will unveil details. Those responsible for this horrific crime must face justice,” Desir added.
Saudi Arabia, which ranks 169th out of 180 on RSF's World Press Freedom Index, has launched a modernisation campaign since Prince Mohammed's appointment as heir to the throne. The ultra- conservative kingdom in June lifted a ban on women driving.