Riyadh sent experts to cover up Khashoggi murder, says Turkey

Saudi Arabia sent two experts to Istanbul with the specific aim of covering up evidence after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its consulate in Istanbul, a Turkish official said on Monday. Over a month after the Saudi royal-insider-turned critic was killed in the mission on October 2, Turkey has still yet to recover the remains amid claims that his body was dissolved in acid.

The killing of the 59-yearold has severely dented the kingdom’s image in the West and put powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the defensive. “We believe the two individuals came to Turkey for the sole purpose of covering up evidence of Khashoggi’s murder before the Turkish police were allowed to search the premises,” a senior Turkish official said.

The official, requesting anonymity, confirmed a report in the Sabah newspaper saying chemicals expert Ahmad Abdulaziz al-Janobi and toxicology expert Khaled Yahya al-Zahrani were among a team sent from Saudi Arabia purportedly to probe the murder last month. The report said they visited the consulate every day from their arrival on October 11 till October 17. Saudi Arabia only allowed Turkish police to finally search the consulate on October 15.

Meanwhile, Khashoggi sons have asked Riyadh to return the body of their father so the grieving family can bury him in a cemetery in Medina with the rest of his clan. Salah and Abdullah Khashoggi, who called their father “courageous, generous and brave,” said they have endured weeks of anguish and uncertainty following his disappearance and