Saudis vow complete Khashoggi probe
US DEFENCE SECRETARY SAYS THERE WILL BE FULL TRANSPARENCY
Saudi Arabia has promised a “full” investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said yesterday following talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir in Bahrain.
“We discussed it... the need of transparency, full and complete investigation. Full agreement from FM Al Jubeir, no reservations at all,” Mattis told reporters following the talks, during which he warned the murder risked destabilising the region.
“No reservations at all. He [Al Jubeir] said we need to know what happened and it was very collaborative,” the Pentagon chief told reporters on a flight from Manama to Prague where he will mark the centenary of Czechoslovakia.
The United States relies heavily on Saudi Arabia to counter Iran’s influence in the region.
Saudi Arabia’s attorney general was scheduled to arrive in Turkey yesterday to hold talks with investigators looking into the slaying of Khashoggi.
Turkey has said Saudi Arabia’s top prosecutor, Saud Al Mojeb, is expected to discuss the latest findings with Turkish investigators. There has been no announcement by the Saudis about the visit, which comes just days after CIA director Gina Haspel was in Turkey to review evidence before briefing the US president.
Turkey is seeking the extradition of 18 Saudi suspects detained in the kingdom in connection with the October 2 killing. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister appeared to reject that notion in remarks on Saturday, saying the kingdom would try the perpetrators and bring them to justice after the investigation is completed.
‘Premeditated’
Khashoggi, a onetime Saudi insider and US resident who lived in self-imposed exile for almost a year before his death, wrote for the Washington Post.
The kingdom again changed its narrative about Khashoggi’s killing, acknowledging in recent days that it was “premeditated,” citing information from Turkey as part of a joint investigation. Saudi officials, however, continue to characterise the killing as a rogue operation carried out by agents who exceeded their authority.
Al Jubeir on Saturday said the global outcry and media focus on the killing had become “fairly hysterical.” He urged the public to wait for the results of the investigation before ascribing blame to the kingdom’s top leadership.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country would reveal more evidence about the killing but was not in any rush to do so.
Al Jubeir has said he could not comment on the details of the investigation as he was not privy to them. “Every day, we uncover new things... New evidence comes to light that the prosecutor incorporates into his investigation and as a result the picture begins to emerge.”