The head of the Saudi investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb (L) leaves the Saudi-Arabian consulate by car in Istanbul on Oct. 30, 2018. (AFP Photo)
Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was strangled to death as soon as he entered Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate and his body was then dismembered and disposed in accordance with plans drawn earlier, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday.
The announcement came as Saudi Arabia’s chief public prosecutor, Saud al-Mojeb, on Wednesday completed inspections related to the killing of Khashoggi in Turkey. Al-Mojeb arrived in Istanbul early Monday to discuss the investigation with Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor İrfan Fidan and members of the Turkish intelligence agency. He was headed to Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport on Wednesday afternoon after a three-day visit.
The statement said that al-Mojeb and the accompanying delegation were asked where Khashoggi’s body was, if there was any evidence reached by Saudi authorities on premeditated plans for the killing, and who the local accomplice mentioned by Saudi officials was. The prosecutor’s office reiterated Turkey’s request for extradition of suspects arrested by Saudi Arabia in Khashoggi case given that the crime scene was in Turkey and Turkish officials are authorized to conduct the investigation.
In a written reply, Saudi officials invited Fidan and an accompanying delegation to Saudi Arabia along with evidence on the issue for further talks, saying that the body could only be located in a joint investigation in Saudi Arabia along with possible plans to murder Khashoggi, the statement said. The Saudi side’s reply also rejected that there was a statement about a local accomplice from Turkey.
The statement added that no concrete results were reached during meetings with the Saudi attorney general despite good intentions, and there was an obligation to reveal the prosecutor’s office’s findings on the investigation given the severity of the action.
Al-Mojeb reportedly met again with officials at the regional head offices of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) on Tuesday night after visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier in the day.
A report by Turkish daily Hürriyet said the Saudi prosecutor had not shared any information, including the testimonies of the 18 people arrested, with Turkish authorities during his visit. The report also said al-Mojeb was seeking Khashoggi’s phone, which the journalist gave to his Turkish fiancee before entering the consulate.
Al-Jazeera reported that the MIT refused to provide recordings and evidence on the case to al-Mojeb.
Speaking after the meeting between Fidan and al-Mojeb, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called on Saudi Arabia to reveal the “whole truth” about the killing.
“This is our concern. This investigation should be concluded as soon as possible,” Çavuşoğlu said, adding that the whole world was waiting for the outcome.
Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Washington Post contributor, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 to obtain paperwork ahead of his upcoming wedding. His body has not yet been found.
The case has brought near unprecedented international scrutiny on Saudi Arabia and its powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, whom Khashoggi had criticized.
After weeks of shifting official narratives, Saudi Arabia has said the journalist was killed by a “rogue operation” and arrested 18 people allegedly connected to his death.
Al-Mojeb was the first Saudi official to acknowledge that the killing was “premeditated” based on the results of Turkey’s investigation.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly called on Riyadh to reveal the location of the body, as well as who ordered the hit.
