Saudis agree to thorough probe
SAUDI Arabia’s crown prince agreed yesterday there must be a thorough investigation into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the US said, after media reports that Riyadh would acknowledge his death in a botched interrogation.
Khashoggi, a US resident and leading critic of the crown prince, vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Turkish officials say they believe he was murdered there and his body removed, which the Saudis strongly deny.
Overnight, Turkish crime scene investigators entered the consulate for the first time since Khashoggi’s disappearance and searched the premises for nine hours.
US President Donald Trump, who dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Riyadh amid strained ties with its close ally, speculated that “rogue killers” may be responsible.
Pompeo met King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh to discuss the incident, which has caused international outrage and brought renewed attention on the authoritarian kingdom’s human rights record.
He and Mohammed “agreed on the importance of a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation”, US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in Washington.
“The secretary reiterated the president’s concern with respect to Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance, as well as the president’s desire to determine what happened,” she said.
Pompeo is expected to go on to Turkey after dinner with the crown prince. In Istanbul, Turkish investigators were expanding their search to include the residence of the Saudi consul and consulate vehicles, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan raised the possibility that parts of the consulate had been repainted since Khashoggi disappeared.
A Turkish security official said no conclusive evidence emerged from the search that indicated Khashoggi was killed in the consulate. “However, there are some findings and they are being worked on,” he said, adding that painting may have damaged some evidence.
Despite the outcry, the case poses a dilemma for the US, Britain and other Western nations. Saudi Arabia is the world’s top oil exporter and spends lavishly on Western arms. It is also a military ally and an opponent of Iran.
Riyadh has also faced criticism from some Western politicians and human right groups over the civilian casualties its war planes have caused in the war in Yemen, in which it intervened three years ago.
CNN said on Monday that after denying for two weeks any role in his disappearance, Saudi Arabia was preparing to say he died in a botched interrogation.
The New York Times said the crown prince had approved an interrogation or abduction of Khashoggi and the government would shield him by blaming an intelligence official. Saudi authorities could not be reached for comment.