Police search Saudi consul’s home
istanBUL: Turkish crime-scene investigators have searched the home of the Saudi consul general in Istanbul over the disappearance of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi.
As Saudi Arabia’s green national flag flapped overhead, forensics teams entered the residence, only 2km from the consulate where Khashoggi vanished on Oct 2 while trying to pick up paperwork to get married.
It was the second such extraordinary search of a site considered under international law to be sovereign Saudi territory after investigators spent hours in the consulate earlier this week.
The searches and the leaks in Turkish media have ensured the world’s attention remains focused on what happened to Khashoggi, who went into a self-imposed exile in the United States over the rise of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
It also put further strains on the relationship between the kingdom, the world’s largest oil exporter, and its main security guarantor, the United States, as tensions with Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East remain high.
Flying back home after a visit to both Saudi Arabia and Turkey, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo remained positive about an ongoing Saudi probe into Khashoggi’s disappearance, but he stressed that answers are needed.
“Sooner’s better than later for everyone,” Pompeo said.
The search of the consul’s residence came 15 days after Khashoggi’s disappearance – and after police apparently thought they would be able to conduct the search on Tuesday.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saudi officials had halted the earlier search, claiming that Consul General Mohammed al-Otaibi’s family was still there.
Crime-scene technicians wore white coveralls, gloves and shoe covers entering the residence.
It was not immediately clear what they hoped to find there, although surveillance video had showed diplomatic cars moving between the consulate and the residence nearly two hours after Khashoggi walked into the diplomatic post.
Turkey’s private DHA news agency, without citing a source, said police wanted to inspect a “water well” in the garden of the residence.
Investigators also re-entered the consulate on Wednesday night.
A high-level Turkish official previously said that police found “certain evidence” of Khashoggi’s slaying at the consulate, without elaborating.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
The report by Yeni Safak cited what it described as an audio recording of Khashoggi’s slaying.
It described the recording as offering evidence that a Saudi team immediately accosted the 60-yearold journalist after he entered the consulate.
Al-Otaibi could be heard on the tape, telling those allegedly torturing Khashoggi: “Do this outside; you’re going to get me in trouble,” the newspaper reported.
One of the Saudis reportedly replied: “Shut up if you want to live when you return to (Saudi) Arabia.”
Security services in Turkey have used pro-government media to leak details of Khashoggi’s case, adding to the pressure on the kingdom.
Al-Otaibi left Turkey on Tuesday, Turkish state media reported. — AP