Was journalist’s body dumped in woodland?
POLICE investigating the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi have expanded their search to woodland on the outskirts of Istanbul.
His body may have been disposed of in the nearby Belgrad Forest or woodland in the Gazi neighbourhood, Turkish officials said.
It is believed the critic of the Saudi crown prince was tortured, murdered and dismembered by a hit squad of 15 Saudi agents.
But his body is yet to be found, leading to speculation the killers may have poured acid on him or flown his body parts back to Riyadh. The new search comes after police painstakingly trawled through hours of CCTV and discovered a deliberate attempt to cover-up the journey of a vehicle which headed to the area. Speaking on a visit to Albania yesterday, the Turkish foreign minister said he would share the results of the probe into Mr Khashoggi’s death with the rest of the world.
Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey had evidence and information obtained from the investigation but denied passing on an audio recording of Mr Khashoggi’s death to other countries. He said: ‘We will share the results that emerge transparently with the whole world. We have not shared any information at all with any country.’
Investigators had been tracing the movements of a suspicious black van belonging to the Saudi diplomatic mission. They watched footage of more than 150 CCTV cameras across the city and pinned down the whereabouts of the vehicle during October 2.
At one point a convoy of cars was seen entering a car park and a CCTV blackspot.
Soon after the black van with green diplomatic plates emerged, a source told news outlet Middle East Eye. A few minutes after leaving the car park the van’s GPRS system was torn out and discarded on the road, it was said.
But investigators – after wading through hours of footage – managed to track the van’s journey north, past the Gazi woodland and Belgrad Forest, and back into town.
The source said police were now combing the areas, using crime scene investigation teams and sniffer dogs.