PRINCE’S ASSOCIATE EYED IN KHASHOGGI SLAY
Turkish newspaper shows images of a man at Saudi Consulate in Istanbul
ISTANBUL— A man linked to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul just before writer Jamal Khashoggi vanished on Oct. 2, a Turkish newspaper reported on Thursday.
The Sabah newspaper’s report also showed the man later outside the Saudi consul general’s home, checking out of a Turkish hotel as a large suitcase stood by his side, and leaving Turkey on Oct. 2.
Overnight searches
The report came as Turkish crime scene investigators finished an overnight search of both the consul general’s residence and a second search of the consulate itself.
Turkish officials fear that Saudi authorities had Khashoggi killed and dismembered inside the consulate in Istanbul, but Saudi Arabia has called the allegations “baseless.”
Evidence buildup
The Sabah report showed the man walking past police barricades at the consulate at 9:55 a.m. with several men following him.
Khashoggi arrived at the consulate at 1:14 p.m., then disappeared while his fiancee waited outside for him.
On Wednesday, another Turkish newspaper, Yeni Safak, claimed an audio recorded Khashoggi’s torture and slaying.
The Sabah newspaper showed an image of the man at 4:53 p.m. at the consul’s home, then at 5:15 p.m. checking out of a hotel. He later cleared airport security at 5:58 p.m.
Security services in Turkey have used progovernment media to leak details of Khashoggi’s case.
Entourage member
The Associated Press ( AP) could not immediately verify the man’s identity, but he’s one of the individuals identified by Turkish authorities as part of a 15-man Saudi team that targeted Khashoggi.
Images shot by the Houston Chronicle show the same man as being part of Prince Mohammed’s entourage when he visited a Houston subdivision in April.
The same man wore lapel pins that other bodyguards accompanying Prince Mohammed wore on the trip.
The three-week trip across the United States saw Prince Mohammed meet with business leaders, including Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, whonowowns the Washington Post, for which Khashoggi contributed articles.
Last column
On Thursday, the Post published what it described as Khashoggi’s last column in honor of the missing journalist.
In it, Khashoggi pointed to the muted international response to abuses against journalists in the Middle East.
“As a result, Arab governments have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate,” Khashoggi wrote.
He added: “The Arab world is facing its own version of an Iron Curtain, imposed not by external actors but through domestic forces vying for power.”