HORROR OF THE TORTURE TAPE

‘Dissident’s fingers cut off one by one as envoy told thugs: Do this outside or I’ll get into trouble’

SAUDI Arabia’s top envoy in Istanbul is said to have told an assassination squad ‘Do this outside’ as they allegedly tortured journalist Jamal Khashoggi to death in the kingdom’s consulate.

Mr Khashoggi reportedly had his fingers cut off one by one and was dismembered with a bone saw while he was still alive.

A leaked audio recording is said to include Saudi consul Mohammed al- Otaibi saying: ‘Do this outside. You are going to get me in trouble.’

An unidentified individual then says: ‘If you want to live when you come to Saudi Arabia, be quiet.’

The leaked recordings appear to implicate Mr al-Otaibi in the death of Mr Khashoggi for the first time.

Mr al-Otaibi flew from Turkey to the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday, and unconfirmed reports last night said he had been sacked.

There was also speculation that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 33, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, was preparing to distance himself from the killing by claiming rogue agents had carried it out.

Turkish media outlets are said to have acquired the audio recordings of the alleged killing, apparently revealing that a screaming Mr Khashoggi’s fingers were cut off, before he was gradually dismembered and then decapitated.

Al Jazeera reported the murder took seven minutes.

It was allegedly carried out by Salah Muhammad al-Tubaigy, said to be head of forensic evidence in the Saudi general security department. He is said to have been part of a 15-man hit squad that flew into Istanbul that day.

The Middle East Eye news website reported that Mr al-Tubaigy began to cut Mr Khashoggi’s body up on a table in the consul’s study.

As he began to dismember Mr Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, Mr al-Tubaigy listened to music on headphones to drown out the screams, it was claimed.

He is said to have told other members of the team to do the same, adding: ‘When I do this job, I listen to music. You should do, too.’

Mr Khashoggi’s cries reportedly stopped after he was given an injection.

CNN said the alleged killing was organised by a senior officer with Saudi Arabia’s main intelligence service, the General Intelligence Presidency. A source described the officer as being close to the inner circle of the crown prince.

Turkish forensic teams began a search of Mr al-Otaibi’s official residence in Istanbul yesterday. Vehicles that had driven from the consulate to the residence were also searched for traces of body parts.

Mr Khashoggi, 59, who had previously compared the crown prince to Vladimir Putin, disappeared on October 2 after walking into the consulate to sort out paperwork for his forthcoming marriage.

He never emerged from the building, and Turkish authorities claim he was killed inside.

Saudi Arabia insists he left by a different exit, but have failed to provide any proof, saying its security cameras were not working.

However, Mr Khashoggi had arrived with his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who waited outside for 11 hours for his return.

His disappearance has sparked a major diplomatic fallout, with Saudi Arabia coming under pressure from its allies to reveal what happened.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and his counterparts in the G7 group of economically advanced nations stepped up the pressure yesterday by issuing a statement saying they were ‘very troubled’.

They insisted those responsible must be held to account and that Saudi Arabia must conduct a ‘thorough, credible, transparent and prompt investigation’.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox was last night still refusing to pull out of a finance conference dubbed ‘Davos in the desert’ in the kingdom next week. As the Government remained undecided about whether to boycott the event, the International Monetary Fund became the latest organisation to drop out.

President Donald Trump said he did not distance himself from Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of Mr Khashoggi, arguing that the US relies on the kingdom in the fight against terrorism.

Asked whether the US would walk away from Saudi Arabia if it was found to have ordered Mr Khashoggi’s murder, he talked of the importance of a US arms sale to the country, adding: ‘I do not want to do that and frankly they have a tremendous order, $110billion.’

Earlier, he had cautioned against rushing to blame Saudi Arabia over the disappearance, saying that Riyadh was being treated as ‘guilty until proven innocent’.

‘If you want to live... be quiet’