Saudi Arabia now says killing of Khashoggi was ‘premeditated’

SAUDI ARABIA changed its explanation of Jamal Khashoggi’s death for a third time yesterday, saying that the journalist’s murder was “premeditated” by Saudi operatives.

The kingdom initially claimed that Mr Khashoggi walked out of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul unharmed on Oct 2, then later said that he was killed accidentally in a “fist fight” with a 15-man team of Saudi agents.

Saudi Arabia said yesterday it had received new information from Turkish investigators that showed that “the suspects ... had committed their act with a premeditated intention”.

In all three versions of the explanation, authorities insisted that Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, was not responsible for The Washington Post columnist’s death.

The Saudi announcement came hours after it emerged that Gina Haspel, the CIA director, had listened to a Turkish audio tape which allegedly showed that Mr Khashoggi was tortured before he was killed.

Turkish officials have long said that the tape disproved Saudi claims the agents did not mean to kill Mr Khashoggi. Turkey has not made the tape public and the CIA did not officially confirm Ms Haspel had heard it.

Ms Haspel briefed Donald Trump about her trip to Turkey and meetings with Turkish officials, as the White House treads a delicate line between being seen to take action on Mr Khashoggi’s death without upsetting US ties with Saudi Arabia or alienating the crown prince.

Meanwhile, Mr Khashoggi’s son, Salah, who had previously been under

‘No 10 strongly urged Saudi Arabia to cooperate with the Turkish investigation and to be transparent’

a travel ban, was allowed to leave Saudi Arabia. He had been summoned to the royal palace on Wednesday, where state media took photographs of him shaking hands with Crown Prince Mohammed, the man accused of ordering his father’s murder.

In her first phone call with King Salman since Mr Khashoggi’s disappearance, Theresa May told the Saudi monarch that the UK also did not accept the accidental death explanation.

The prime minister said on Wednesday that the accidental death story “lacks credibility so there remains an urgent need to establish exactly what happened”, Downing Street said. “She strongly urged Saudi Arabia to cooperate with the Turkish investigation and to be transparent about the results. It is important that the full facts are established.” She said the UK would revoke visas from anyone suspected of taking part in Mr Khashoggi’s death.

Meanwhile, the EU parliament also passed a symbolic resolution calling for European nations to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Germany has stopped selling weapons to Riyadh but the UK appears likely to continue.

It came as Turkish police took water samples from a well at the home of the Saudi consul-general, where operatives are believed to have taken Mr Khashoggi’s body after killing him.

Riyadh’s new story closes the gap between Turkey and Saudi Arabia’s narratives of events, but still leaves several issues unresolved. Mr Erdogan said he did not believe that “rogue” agents were responsible and said “those who gave the orders” must be held accountable. He did not directly accuse the crown prince of involvement, as several leading US senators have.

♦ The Duke of York has expressed his eagerness to work with Saudi Arabia during a talk in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to promote his Pitch@palace.

The Duke said: “It’s hugely important for us to have partners in the region, we look forward to working in Bahrain and, as time goes by, we hope to expand into Saudi and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.”

Pitch@palace brings together entrepreneurs and investors.