Saudi prosecutor to visit Istanbul

ISTANBUL: Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor will visit Istanbul to speak with Turkish authorities as part of the investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Turkey’s president said yesterday, adding that Ankara has yet more evidence in the case.

The announcement by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan comes a day after the Saudi prosecutor said that, based on evidence supplied by Turkey, the murder appeared to have been premeditated — the first time Saudi authorities have made such an admission.

The killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor critical of Riyadh, in the Saudi consulate here on Oct 2 has sparked international backlash against the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia is seeking to draw a line under the crisis, but a string of gruesome details about the murder have continued to appear in Turkish media.

Erdogan said the Saudi prosecutor would arrive tomorrow, and called on Riyadh to reveal who ordered the killing and the whereabouts of Khashoggi’s body.

“You need to show this body,” Erdogan said during an address in Ankara to his ruling party’s provincial heads.

Khashoggi, 59, had been living in self-exile in the United States since last year.

He was killed after entering the Saudi consulate here to obtain paperwork for his marriage to a Turkish woman.

The kingdom has arrested 18 Saudi suspects over the case.

Erdogan said they must know who killed Khashoggi and his repeated call for the men to be tried in Turkey.

“The culprit is among them. If that is not the case, then who is the local conspirator? You have to tell,” said Erdogan.

“Unless you tell, Saudi Arabia will not be free from this suspicion.”

Erdogan said Turkey had shared evidence with countries, including Saudi Arabia, and added that it had even more.

“It is not that we don’t have any other information or documents. We do. Tomorrow is another day,” he said.