Saudi hitman ‘dressed in victim’s clothes and glasses to pretend he’d left embassy’
‘Body rolled up in a rug’
ONE of the Saudi hitmen dressed up in Jamal Khashoggi’s clothes to make it appear as if he had left Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate, according to the country’s latest explanation.
A senior official said operative Mustafa Madani also wore the 59-yearold’s glasses and Apple watch and left through the back door.
He said the journalist had been placed in a chokehold during which he accidentally died – and then his body was smuggled out of the building in a rolled-up carpet.
On Friday, the kingdom admitted Mr Khashoggi was dead after repeatedly claiming the high-profile critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had walked out of the consulate unharmed.
It said the journalist was killed in a ‘fist fight’ and that the government had fired five top officials and arrested 18 others as a result of the initial investigation.
Yesterday, Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News: ‘Unfortunately, a huge and grave mistake was made and I assure them that those responsible will be held accountable for this.’ He added: ‘We don’t know where the body is.’
It came after a senior Saudi official, who requested anonymity, contradicted previous explanations.
He said the team of 15 Saudis sent to confront Mr Khashoggi on October 2 had threatened him with being drugged and kidnapped, and then killed him in a chokehold when he resisted.
Madani then donned Mr Khashoggi’s clothes, glasses and Apple watch before leaving the building to make it look like the journalist had left, it was claimed.
The body was then rolled up in a rug, taken out in a consular vehicle and given to a ‘local co-operator’ for disposal, he added. Forensic expert Salah Tubaigy tried to remove any trace of the incident, the official said.
Madani later went to the Sultanahmet district where he disposed of Mr Khashoggi’s belongings, it was claimed.
Asked about claims the journalist had been tortured and beheaded, the official said preliminary results of the investigation did not suggest so.
The government wanted to convince Mr Khashoggi, who had moved to Washington, to return to the kingdom as part of a campaign to prevent dissidents from being recruited by Saudi Arabia’s enemies, the official said. But things soon went wrong as the team overstepped their orders and quickly employed violence, he added. It was claimed Mr Khashoggi told one of the men, Maher Mutreb, that he was violating diplomatic norms and said: ‘What are you going to do with me? Do you intend to kidnap me?’ Mutreb replied, ‘Yes, we will drug you and kidnap you,’ in what the official said was an attempt at intimidation. When Mr Khashoggi raised his voice, the team panicked. They moved to restrain him, placing him in a chokehold, according to the government’s account.
Asked if Mr Khashoggi was smothered, the official explained: ‘If you put someone of Jamal’s age in this position, he would probably die.’
The official said the team then wrote a false report saying they had allowed Mr Khashoggi to leave. When the Press reported that he had been killed there, the Saudi authorities called the accusations ‘baseless’.
Turkish officials believe the Saudis may have dumped his remains in Belgrad Forest near Istanbul and at a rural location near the city of Yalova.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said he would reveal the ‘naked truth’ about the killing at a briefing tomorrow.
Yesterday it emerged the Scottish Government had abandoned plans to appoint an energy specialist to boost exports to Saudi Arabia.
Plans to recruit five specialists across the globe were published on October 10, eight days after Mr Khashoggi’s disappearance, but the appointment for Saudi Arabia has since been dropped.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We share the widespread international concern following the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi and will not be proceeding with this particular appointment.’