Saudis admit killing
Khashoggi died in consulate ‘fistfight’, 18 suspects held
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a “fistfight” in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, the kingdom claimed yesterday, admitting for the first time the writer had been slain at its diplomatic post. Authorities said 18 Saudi suspects were in custody for his slaying and intelligence officials had been fired.
The announcements in Saudi state media came more than two weeks after Khashoggi, 59, entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul for paperwork required to marry his Turkish fiancee, and never came out. The kingdom had rejected Turkish fears he was killed and dismembered there as “baseless”, but growing international pressure appears to have forced the kingdom to acknowledge the slaying.
While it fired officials close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom stopped short of implicating the heir-apparent of the world’s largest oil exporter. King Salman, his father, appointed him to lead a committee that will restructure the kingdom’s intelligence services.
It also offered a different version of events than those given by Turkish officials, who have said an “assassination squad” from the kingdom including an official from Prince Mohammed’s entourage and an “autopsy expert” flew in and laid in wait for Khashoggi at the consulate. Beyond its statements of anonymous officials, Saudi Arabia offered no evidence to support its claims.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders yesterday said the US would closely follow international investigations into Khashoggi’s death and advocate for justice that is “timely, transparent and in accordance with all due process”.
Trump called the announcement a “good first step,” but said what happened to Khashoggi was “unacceptable”.
The announcements came in a flurry of statements carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
“Preliminary investigations conducted by the Public Prosecution showed that the suspects had travelled to Istanbul to meet with the citizen Jamal Khashoggi as there were indications of the possibility of his returning back to the country.
“Discussions took place with the citizen Jamal Khashoggi during his presence in the consulate of the kingdom in Istanbul by the suspects [that] did not go as required and developed in a negative way, leading to a fistfight. The brawl led to his death and their attempt to conceal and hide what happened.
“The kingdom expresses its deep regret at the painful developments that have taken place and stresses the commitment of the authorities in the kingdom to bring the facts to the public opinion, to hold all those involved accountable and bring them to justice,” the statement said.
Turkish crime scene investigators this week searched the Saudi Consulate building in Istanbul and the nearby residence of the Saudi consul general. Yesterday, investigators questioned staff and explored whether his remains could have been dumped outside Istanbul, Turkish media and a security official said.