Saudi prosecutor visits Istanbul consulate
ISTANBUL: Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor yesterday visited the consulate in Istanbul where journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
The head of the Saudi investigation, Attorney-General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb, who last week acknowledged that the killing was ‘premeditated’, did not make a statement as he arrived at the diplomatic compound.
Earlier in the day he met Istanbul chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan for the second time.
On Monday, Mojeb had asked to be given the full findings of the Turkish investigation, including all images and audio recordings, Turkish broadcaster TRT reported.
The Turkish investigators rejected the request, TRT said, instead calling on the Saudi prosecutor to reveal information about the location of Khashoggi’s body, which has not yet been found.
They also repeated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s call for the 18 suspects arrested by Saudi Arabia over the murder be sent to Turkey for trial, according to TRT.
Riyadh has refused the request.
The case has sparked a PR crisis for the oil-rich Gulf nation, which is seeking to draw a line under the case as Western powers demand answers.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor who had criticised Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammad Salman, has not been seen after entering the consulate on Oct 2 to obtain paperwork for his marriage to his Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz.
On Monday she hit out at the US President Donald Trump’s response to the murder, saying he must not let Riyadh cover up the killing.
“I am extremely disappointed by the stance of the leadership of many countries, particularly in the US,” she told a memorial event in London.
She said she believed the Saudi regime knew where Khashoggi’s body was, and called for the “evil criminals and their cowardly political masters” to be held to account.
Trump has called the case “one of the worst coverups in history”, but warned against halting a Saudi arms deal to increase the pressure, saying it would harm US jobs.