Turkish police search villas for ‘Khashoggi remains’
ANKARA: Turkish police yesterday were searching two villas in a northwestern province for the remains of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, state media reported. The officers began searching a two-storey building in Termal district in Yalova with the help of sniffer dogs and drones yesterday morning, and the investigation later widened to the adjacent villa, state news agency Anadolu said. Crime scene investigators were inspecting a well in the garden of the first villa in Samanli village, Anadolu reported, while images showed fire trucks at the scene. Khashoggi, a contributor for The Washington Post, was killed by Saudi officials on October 2 during a visit to the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul for paperwork before his wedding. His body has not been found and his death has triggered widespread international criticism of Riyadh. There have been reports in pro-government media that his remains could have been dissolved in acid. The searches yesterday comes over two weeks after Sabah daily had reported that samples taken from the consulate drains showed traces of acid. Turkish authorities say a team of 15 Saudi officials were sent especially to kill Khashoggi, 59, but Riyadh insists the team conducted a rogue operation.
Tunisians protests
Anadolu said some of the suspects had spoken to an unnamed Saudi citizen on the phone. After learning this, authorities initiated the search of the Saudi businessman’s villas, Anadolu added, but he was not in Turkey during the phone calls with the suspects. Yalova governor Muammer Erol told Anadolu in a written statement that the Istanbul public prosecutor in charge of the murder investigation would provide the “necessary information” about the results of the search later. There have been previous inspections of the Saudi consulate and the consul-general’s residence in Istanbul as well as a forest in the city.
In another development, Tunisian unions and civil society groups
called for protests yesterday against a planned visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Tunisia’s presidency has said the de facto Saudi ruler will visit the North African nation for several hours today as part of a regional tour, without providing details on the program. A demonstration is planned in the centre of Tunis, organized by the National Union of Tunisian Journalists and several NGOs and civil society organizations. Other protests-organized by student bodies-are planned for today morning in Tunis and the city of Sfax. Saudi Arabia has faced intense global criticism over the killing of insiderturned-critic Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate on October 2. He was reportedly dismembered in what Saudi Arabia said was a “rogue” operation, but CIA analysis leaked to the US media pointed the finger at Prince Mohammed. “No to the desecration of Tunisia, country of the revolution” read a large banner displayed over the weekend at the journalists’ union, depicting a man in traditional Saudi dress holding a chainsaw with his back to the camera. Spain ex-king under fire Meanwhile, former Spanish King Juan Carlos was under fire yesterday after a photo emerged of him meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who has been tainted by the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The photo, which was released on the Twitter account of the Saudi foreign ministry (@KSAmofaEN), was published in several Spanish newspapers.
Conservative daily El Mundo ran it along with the headline: “The photo of shame”. Far-left parties Podemos and Izquierda Unida which oppose the monarchy criticised the unexpected meeting between the former monarch and the de facto Saudi ruler at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday. “It is humiliating Spain and Spaniards,” wrote Pablo Echinique, a leading member of Podemos, on Twitter.
Izquierda Unida leader Alberto Garzon questioned the Spanish royal family’s friendships, saying on Twitter they are a “faithful reflection of an era that has to end”. “The Spanish monarchy is a problem not just for the Spanish people as this photograph shows. It’s not a simple photo, it is a symbol,” he added. Juan Carlos, 80, has long had close ties with the Saudi royal family which has helped Spain to land lucrative contracts in the oil-rich kingdom. He abdicated in 2014 after several scandals in favor of his son Felipe VI, who has tried to restore the monarchy’s reputation.