Riyadh asked to prove critic left consulate

ANKARA: Turkey’s president has demanded Saudi officials prove their claim that missing journalist and Riyadh critic Jamal Khashoggi left the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, as the US called for a thorough probe into his disappearance.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments on Monday came after media reports said his government sought permission from Saudi authorities to search the consulate premises in Istanbul.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, vanished last Tuesday after entering the consulate to receive official documents ahead of his marriage to a Turkish woman.

“Consulate officials cannot save themselves by saying that he left the building. Don’t you have a camera?” said Mr Erdogan.

“If he l eft, you have t o prove it with footage.”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement urged “the government of Saudi Arabia to support a thorough investigation of Khashoggi’s disappearance and to be transparent about the results of that investigation”.

Turkish police said at the weekend that around 15 Saudis, including officials, arrived in Istanbul on two flights last Tuesday and were at the consulate at the same time as Khashoggi.

A Turkish government source said at the weekend that the police believe the journalist “was killed by a team especially sent to Istanbul and who left the same day”.

Riyadh vehemently denies the claim and says Khashoggi left the consulate.

Turkey on Monday sought permission to search the consulate premises, Turkish NTV broadcaster reported.

The move came after the foreign ministry summoned the Saudi ambassador for a second time on Sunday over the journalist’s disappearance.

A Turkish diplomat confirmed on Monday that the Saudi envoy had met deputy foreign minister Sedat Onal.

“The ambassador was told that we expected full cooperation during the investigation,” the source said. The ambassador was first summoned to the ministry yesterday.

US President Donald Trump said he was “concerned” about the journalist’s disappearance.

“Right now, nobody knows anything about it. There are some pretty bad stories going around. I do not like it,” Mr Trump said.

Khashoggi went to the consulate to obtain official documents required for his marriage to Hatice Cengiz.

Turkish police quickly said he never left the building as there was no security footage of his departure.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that Riyadh was “ready to welcome the Turkish government to search” the consulate, which is Saudi sovereign territory.

Khashoggi had been critical of some of the crown prince’s policies as well as Saudi Arabia’s intervention in the war in Yemen, both in Arab and Western media.