Forensics team searches Saudi Consulate in Turkey
Turkish investigators seek evidence in disappearance of Saudi writer
ISTANBUL — Turkish crime scene investigators dressed in coveralls and gloves entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Monday, nearly two weeks after the disappearance and alleged slaying of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi there.
Police officers carrying files and equipment walked through the heavy metal doors of the consulate after sunset, carrying out an extraordinary search of a diplomatic post that is otherwise considered foreign soil under international law as worldwide concern grows for the missing Washington Post columnist.
The search represents new cooperation between Turkey, which says it fears Khashoggi was killed and dismembered there, and Saudi Arabia, which maintains the allegations it faces are “baseless” despite being unable to explain what happened to Khashoggi.
However, questions remained over how much evidence the investigators could turn up at a consulate where a cleaning crew entered hours before their arrival.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump suggested without offering evidence that “rogue killers” may have slain Khashoggi, stepping further back from his pledge that Saudi Arabia would face “severe punishment” if it is found to be responsible for the columnist’s yet-to-be-determined fate.
The Turkish team included a prosecutor, a deputy prosecutor, antiterror police and forensic experts, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Certain areas of the consulate were to remain off-limits, although officials would be able to inspect surveillance cameras within the post, Turkish media reported.
Turkish officials have wanted to search the consulate for days. Permission for that apparently came after a late Sunday night call between Saudi King Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In statements after the call, both praised the creation of a joint Saudi-Turkish probe about Khashoggi.
The Saudi acceptance came after the kingdom on Sunday threatened retaliation for any sanctions it could face over Khashoggi. The statement did not elaborate, but a Saudi-owned satellite channel later suggested the world’s largest oil exporter could wield that production as a weapon against America.
U.S. lawmakers also have threatened tough punitive action against the Saudis if found responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance. Germany, France and Britain also jointly called for a “credible investigation.”
What evidence Turkish officials could gather at the consulate remained unknown. Saudi officials have been in and out of the building since Khashoggi’s disappearance Oct. 2 without being stopped. Under the Vienna Convention, diplomatic posts are technically foreign soil that must be protected and respected by host countries.
Earlier Monday, a cleaning crew with mops, trash bags and what appeared to be bottles of bleach walked in past waiting journalists.