Saudis quickly strangled Khashoggi, Turkish official says

ISTANBUL — Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi was strangled almost as soon as he stepped into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul a month ago, and his body was then dismembered and destroyed, the chief prosecutor for Istanbul said Wednesday, giving the first official explanation from Turkey of how Khashoggi died.

The announcement came as the Turkish and Saudi chief prosecutors ended, without progress, three days of meetings as part of a joint investigation into Khashoggi’s murder.

Western intelligence analysts and Turkish officials have maintained that the operation could not have been carried out without the consent of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has refused Turkey’s demand that it extradite 18 Saudi officials who have been detained in their home country in connection with Khashoggi’s murder so they can stand trial in Turkey.

Mohammed sent his chief prosecutor to Istanbul for talks this week, but a statement from Irfan Fidan, the chief prosecutor for Istanbul, said the meetings were largely unproductive.

The decision to release information, on the record, about Khashoggi’s death was an indication of Turkey’s frustration with the failure of the Saudis to answer three key questions: Where was Khashoggi’s body? Had Saudi investigators uncovered evidence of premeditation? And who was the “local collaborator” who is said to have disposed of his remains?

The Saudi prosecutor, Saud al-Mujeb, was returning to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday but promised answers. Instead, Fidan was invited to visit Saudi Arabia and conduct joint interrogations of the 18 Saudis.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he doesn’t feel “betrayed” by Saudi Arabia but that “maybe they’ve betrayed themselves.” Trump told reporters: “I just hope it all works out.”