The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Gory account of alleged embassy killing emerges
Police searching the Saudi consulate have found evidence that Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi was killed there, a high-level Turkish official said.
The revelation came as America’s top diplomat landed in Turkey to discuss the probe into the writer’s disappearance.
The Turkish official’s comment has intensified pressure on Saudi Arabia to explain what happened to Mr Khashoggi, who vanished on October 2 while visiting the consulate to pick up paperwork he needed in oder to get married.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo told journalists before leaving Riyadh that Saudi leaders, including King Salman and his son, the 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, “made no exceptions on who they would hold accountable”.
Mr Pompeo said: “They made a commitment to hold anyone connected to any wrongdoing that may be found accountable for that, whether they are a senior officer or official.”
However, no major decision is made outside of the ultra-conservative kingdom’s ruling al Saud family.
Mr Khashoggi fled the country last year amid the rise of Prince Mohammed, whom he wrote critically about in The Washington Post.
A strongly pro-government Turkish newspaper published a gruesome recounting of the alleged murder of Mr Khashoggi inside the consulate. Yeni Safak cited what it described as an audio recording of the killing, which it said showed the columnist was tortured.
The newspaper said Saudi Consul General Mohammed al-Otaibi could be heard on the tape, telling those allegedly torturing Mr Khashoggi: “Do this outside; you’re going to get me in trouble.”
The newspaper said one of the Saudis torturing Mr Khashoggi replied: “Shut up if you want to live when you return to (Saudi) Arabia.”