Turkish President questions Saudi Arabia - Where is Khashoggi's body?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has asked Saudi Arabia to reveal the whereabouts of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.
Erdogan said in a meeting with members of his party that the kingdom should disclose the identity of the person who issued the order Khashoggi's death, adding that the Saudi prosecutor will arrive Sunday to Turkey for talks with the Turkish authorities in the investigation of the case. The Turkish president also called on the Saudi authorities to reveal the local Turkish collaborator who was reportedly handed over to Khashoggi's body.
A Saudi source close to the investigation said last Sunday that Khashoggi's body "was placed in a carpet and handed over to a local collaborator for his burial." But the focus now seems to be on a well in a garden at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Investigators are reported to have taken a sample of the well water after approval by Saudi officials who did not allow the well to be inspected.
The killing of Jamal Khashoggi "was orchestrated days before its implementation"
In Moscow, a spokesman for the Russian president said Russia believed the Saudi royal family had nothing to do with Khashoggi's death.
In response to a question during a press conference, the spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, said that "the question of the involvement of the Saudi royal family in the case is inappropriate. There is an official statement from the king and an official statement from the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, denying any connection to the royal family with the killing of Khashoggi, And there is no justification for their non-ratification. "
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz on Thursday evening to discuss the latest case of Khashoggi's death, a Kremlin statement said.
Intentional murder
The Saudi Attorney-General admitted yesterday that Khashoggi's murder was deliberate.
"The suspects were questioned about the murder based on the information provided by the Saudi-Turkish Joint Task Force," the prosecutor said.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has vowed to punish those responsible for Khashoggi's murder.
But Turkish media quoted security sources as saying that the man running the operation was a senior aide to the crown prince.
Earlier today, Salah Khashoggi, the eldest son of the murdered Saudi journalist, and his family arrived in Washington DC at the request of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Khashoggi's son, who holds both Saudi and American citizenship, was subject to a travel ban.
Salah and his family joined his mother and three brothers in Washington.
Timeline of developments in the case of Jamal Khashoggi
The White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, confirmed that President Donald Trump received a statement from CIA Director, Gina Haskell, on the investigation into the killing of Khashoggi.
There was no comment from the White House on Hubble's statement or the details of her meeting with Trump.
This came after Haspel returned from a visit to Turkey, where she heard recordings of sound recordings of Khashoggi's murder inside his consulate in Istanbul, according to American media reported.
Turkish media quoted Turkish officials as saying that the authorities in Ankara had audio recordings of Khashoggi's interrogation and murder, but did not give details of the content or how to obtain them.
By: Staff writer / Source: BBC
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