‘SAUDI JOURNO KILLED AS SOON AS HE ENTERED CONSULATE IN ISTANBUL’
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was strangled as soon as he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and his body was dismembered before it was removed, according to Turkish officials.
“In accordance with plans made in advance, the victim, Jamal Khashoggi, was strangled and killed immediately after entering the consulate,” the office of Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Irfan Fidan said in a statement.
“The victim Jamal Khashoggi’s body was dismembered and destroyed following his death by suffocation, again in line with the advance plans,” the two-page statement read.
First official statement
The statement was the first public confirmation by a Turkish official that Khashoggi was strangled and mutilated after he entered the Saudi Consulate on Oct. 2.
Fidan’s office also said that discussions with Saudi Chief Prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb yielded “no concrete result” despite Turkey’s “good-intentioned efforts to reveal the truth.”
It also pointed to a lack of cooperation from Saudi officials in the investigation of the slaying.
Turkey has sought the extradition from Saudi Arabia of 18 suspects in the killing and pressed Saudi Arabia for information about who ordered Khashoggi’s killing and the location of his remains.
No concrete result
Saudi Chief Prosecutor AlMojeb met with Fidan twice and also visited the Turkish intelligence agency’s Istanbul headquarters this week before leaving for Riyadh on a private jet on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia has not commented directly on the prosecutor’s visit and Al-Mojeb did not respond to journalists’ questions at the airport as he departed.
Please present evidence
Fidan’s office said the Saudi delegation submitted a written statement and invited the Turkish delegation to come to Saudi Arabia bringing “evidence obtained during the course of the investigation.”
The Saudi representatives said the whereabouts of Khashoggi’s remains and whether the killing was premeditated or not would only come to light through a joint interrogation by Turkish and Saudi investigators, according to the statement.
The statement said Turkey renewed its request for the 18 suspects to be extradited.
It did not say if Turkish officials would travel to Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi, a 59-year-old columnist for Washington Post, vanished after entering the consulate in Istanbul to pick up paperwork he needed for his upcoming marriage.
His Turkish fiancee was waiting for him outside.
A critic of the Saudi crown prince, Khashoggi had been living in exile in the United States.
Assassination squad
Turkey alleged a hit squad from Saudi Arabia went to Istanbul to kill the journalist and then tried to cover it up.
Under mounting pressure, Saudi Arabia changed its narrative about Khashoggi’s killing several times, eventually admitting Khashoggi died inside the consulate.
Saudi Arabia only recently acknowledged Turkish evidence showed the slaying was premeditated.