Allies call for evidence over Khashoggi killing

Joint statement comes amid increasing scepticism over Saudi Arabia’s version of events around killing

The UK, France and Germany yesterday demanded evidence from Saudi Arabia to back its claim that Jamal Khashoggi died in a fight at its consulate in Istanbul. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said she would back a halt in arms exports to Riyadh. The Saudi explanation – that the dissident journalist was killed when an argument got out of control – “needs to be backed by facts”, a joint statement said. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, said Ankara would release “the naked truth” in the form of a full report tomorrow.

THE UK, France and Germany yesterday demanded evidence from Saudi Arabia to back its claim that Jamal Khashoggi died in a fight at its consulate, while Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would even back a halt in arms exports to Riyadh.

Riyadh’s explanation that the dissident journalist was killed when an argument spiralled out of control “needs to be backed by facts”, a joint statement said, amid increasing scepticism about the Saudi version of events.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister last night appeared on US television to admit officials still did not know exactly how the 59-year-old died or where his body was, while King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly called Mr Khashoggi’s son, Salah, to express their condolences.

Last night, a Saudi official offered more detail about what Riyadh says might have happened inside the consulate, following the admission on Friday that Mr Khashoggi died in a “fist-fight” when he was detained in Istanbul.

The spokesman told Reuters that a team of 15 Saudi nationals sent to confront Mr Khashoggi threatened him with being drugged and kidnapped and taken to safe house for questioning. He resisted and was killed in a chokehold, rather than in a “fist-fight”. His body was then smuggled out of the building wrapped in a rug, while a member of staff dressed in Mr Khashoggi’s clothes to make it appear he had strolled out of the consulate, the official claimed.

However, amid increasing doubt over Riyadh’s changing versions of events, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, said last night that Ankara would release “the naked truth” in the form of a full report tomorrow.

Turkish security sources have pointed to a murder carried out by a hit squad that flew in from Riyadh. Turkey is said to hold recordings of what happened.

In the joint statement, Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, Jean-yves Le Drian, his French counterpart, and Heiko Maas, of Germany, condemned the killing. “We will make our judgment based on the credibility of the further explanation we receive about what happened and our confidence that such a shameful event cannot and will not ever be repeated,” they said.

Mrs Merkel, the German chancellor, said she backed a freeze on arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi’s admission on Friday night was the third version of the events released by the kingdom. Accounts started with claims that Mr Khashoggi walked out of the consulate, before moving on to blaming “rogue killers” and finally settling on the supposed fight that erupted during what officials said were “discussions”.

In an interview on Fox News, Adel al-jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, offered his condolences to Mr Khashoggi’s family and said the death was a “mistake”. The official explanation may have been designed to shield the crown prince from blame, Saudi critics said, as they stepped up calls for his removal.

Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, said the Saudi state had copied the playbook of Vladimir Putin and his efforts to silence critics. “This cannot become a pattern. We cannot just let it pass,” he writes in The Daily Telegraph today. Yesterday, Donald Trump also toughened his line. He told The

Washington Post: “Obviously there’s been deception, there’s been lies.”

His words illustrate a dilemma for the United States, which sees Riyadh as a customer for billions of dollars of arms. Last night, Mr Erdogan held a telephone call with the US president and they agreed the Khashoggi case needed to be clarified “in all its aspects”.

Yesterday it emerged that Steven Mnuchin, Mr Trump’s treasury secretary, would travel to Riyadh this week to discuss the campaign against Iran.