Turkey ‘won’t allow Khashoggi cover-up’
Trump accepts ‘credible’ Saudi claims that journalist was killed in fist fight as experts call them ludicrous
TURKEY promised yesterday that it would not allow any cover-up over Jamal Khashoggi’s death after Saudi Arabia admitted its operatives killed the journalist but insisted that the crown prince was not involved. After protesting its innocence for more than two weeks, Saudi Arabia changed course and said that Mr Khashoggi, 59, had died during “a fist fight” in the Saudi consulate on Oct 2.
The kingdom said it had arrested 18 Saudis and sacked Gen Ahmed al-Assiri, the deputy intelligence chief, and Saud al-Qahtani, a close aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It insisted that the crown prince had no knowledge of the murder.
Donald Trump said he found the explanation “credible”. The US president added that it was “possible” that the crown prince did not know about the operation to kill Mr Khashoggi. He also reiterated that he did not want to put sanctions on arms exports to the country. He said: “That would hurt us far more than it would ... them.”
But the Saudi narrative was met with scepticism by US intelligence experts and members of Congress. Omer Celik, of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, said: “Turkey will reveal whatever had happened. We are not accusing anyone in advance but we don’t accept anything to remain covered [up].”
Turkish police continue to search for Mr Khashoggi’s corpse amid Saudi claims that his killers handed his body to a local accomplice and that the kingdom did not know where it was. Officials in Ankara claim to have audio tapes showing Mr Khashoggi was tortured before he was murdered and cut apart. The tapes, if released, could undercut Saudi claims of a fist fight.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was the first major world leader to say she did not accept the Saudi explanation of the “horrific events”. “They haven’t been cleared up and of course we demand that they be cleared up,” she said. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, added: “The confirmation of Jamal Khashoggi’s death is a first step toward the establishment of the truth.” Saudi officials said Gen Assiri had acted on his own to plan the kidnap. “[Crown Prince Mohammed] had no knowledge of this specific operation and certainly did not order a kidnapping or murder of anybody,” an official said. According to the Saudi statement, a 15-man squad confronted Mr Khashoggi as he entered the consulate and a fight broke out. It said there was “a brawl and a fist fight with the citizen, Jamal Khashoggi, which led to his death, may his soul rest in peace.”
Bruce Riedel, an ex-CIA officer and director of the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institute, said it was “ludicrous” to claim Saudi officials had mounted the operation without the crown prince’s knowledge. “If this is the best cover-up they’re going to be able to put forward it’s not going to pass muster,” he said.