Saudis say Khashoggi died in fight at consulate
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES >> Saudi Arabia acknowledged early Saturday that Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. It said he died in a fight and that 18 Saudis were being held as suspects.
The overnight announcements by Saudi state media came more than two weeks after Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, for paperwork required to marry his Turkish fiancée, and never came out.
Saudi Arabia had rejected as baseless reports that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the consulate, but it was facing growing pressure to explain what happened to him.
The overnight announcements also said a royal court adviser close to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was fired along with three leaders in the kingdom’s intelligence services and other officials. Saudi King Salman also had a plan to restructure the kingdom’s intelligence services.
The statements contradict reports by pro-government media in Turkey, which have pub-
lished surveillance video and other materials suggesting Khashoggi was killed by an assassination squad with ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
On Wednesday, the Turkish pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak, citing what it described as an audio recording of Khashoggi’s slaying, said the squad immediately accosted the journalist after he entered the consulate, cutting off his fingers and later decapitating him.
“Preliminary investigations carried out by the Public Prosecution Office into the disappearance of Saudi citizen Jamal bin Ahmad Khashoggi revealed that the discussions that took place between him and the persons who met him during his presence at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul (leading) to a brawl and a fist fight with the citizen, Jamal Khashoggi, which led to his death, may his soul rest in peace,” the Saudi prosecutors’ statement read.
The Saudi statements did not identify the 18 Saudis being held by authorities.
In Washington late Friday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the U.S. will closely follow international investigations into Khashoggi’s death and will advocate for justice that is “timely, transparent and in accordance with all due process.”
The White House also offered condolences to Khashoggi’s family, fiancee and friends.
President Donald Trump has said the consequences for the Saudis “will have to be very severe” if they are found to have killed him, but he has insisted insisted that more facts must be known before making assumptions.
Turkish crime scene investigators this week searched the Saudi Consulate building in Istanbul and the nearby residence of the Saudi consul general, and came out carrying bags and boxes. On Friday, investigators questioned staff and explored whether Khashoggi’s remains could have been dumped outside Istanbul after his suspected killing, Turkish media and a security official said.
The prominent journalist had written columns critical of the Saudi government while living in self-imposed exile in the U.S.