ANSD : Turkey has more evidence in Khashoggi murder: report

FRI 26 - 4 - 2024

Date: Nov 16, 2018
Source: The Daily Star

Turkey has more evidence in Khashoggi murder: report

Saudi prosecutor seeks death penalty in Khashoggi killing

_{Agence France Presse}
ISTANBUL: Turkey has more evidence contradicting the Saudi version of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi including a second audio recording, a Turkish newspaper reported on Friday.

The second voice recording -- said to be 15 minutes -- clearly reveals that the murder of the Washington Post columnist had been premeditated, the Hurriyet newspaper said.

That would contradict the statement of the Saudi prosecutor who said on Thursday that five Saudi officials faced the death penalty on charges of killing Khashoggi but exonerated the country's powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of involvement in the murder.

Khashoggi, 59, a critic of the crown prince, was killed and dismembered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Turkey has said the murder was carried out by a team of Saudis who travelled to Istanbul for that purpose.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the order came from "the highest levels" of the Riyadh government, but stopped short of pointing the finger of blame at the crown prince.

Abdulkadir Selvi, pro-government columnist in the Hurriyet daily, said key findings in the Saudi prosecutor's statement did not overlap with the evidence in the hands of Turkey including two voice recordings.

He claimed that the first seven-minute voice recording proves that Khashoggi was strangled but the second tape recorded shortly before the journalist stepped into the consulate clearly shows the murder was planned in advance.

The second tape proves the 15-member "killer team" seated inside the consulate before Khashoggi's arrival was discussing how to carry out the murder, he said.

Turkey has also evidence that the team made international calls after the murder, he added.

Saudi prosecutors on Thursday announced indictments against 11 people and said a total of 21 individuals were in custody in connection with the killing.

It said execution would be recommended for five of them who "are charged with ordering and committing the crime."

Turkey however said the Saudi statement was "insufficient", with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu insisting that the killing was "premeditated."

Saudi prosecutor seeks death penalty in Khashoggi killing

Associated Press
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s top prosecutor said Thursday he would seek the death penalty for five men charged with the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, while the United States moved to sanction 17 Saudi officials it said were involved in the slaying.

The Saudi announcement appeared aimed at distancing the killers and their operation from the kingdom’s leadership, including Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, amid a global outcry over the writer’s death.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Thursday the crown prince had “absolutely” nothing to do with Khashoggi’s death.

A U.S. official, meanwhile, described the Saudi move as a good first step, according to AFP, while the Treasury Department announced it was imposing sanctions on 17 Saudi officials who it said were responsible for or complicit in the killing.

Among those targeted for sanctions are Saud al-Qahtani, who was one of the crown prince’s closest aides, and Mohammad al-Otaibi, the diplomat in charge of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul where Khashoggi was killed on Oct. 2.

Also named is Maher Mutreb, who was part of the crown prince’s entourage on trips abroad.

With the kingdom facing mounting international pressure, prosecutors have pointed the finger at some members of the crown prince’s inner circle but stopped short of accusing them of ordering Khashoggi’s killing.

Those closest to the prince are instead accused of ordering Khashoggi’s forced return in an operation that the Saudis allege went awry.

At a news conference, Sheikh Shalan al-Shalan, the deputy attorney general, said the killing was ordered by an individual whom he did not identify but said was responsible for negotiating Khashoggi’s return back to Saudi Arabia from Istanbul.

The individual was part of a 15-man team that was made up of negotiators, intelligence officers

and logistics officials. Shalan said that on the morning of Oct. 2, the leader of the negotiating team saw that he would not be able to force Khashoggi to return, “so he decided to kill him in the moment.”This appears to contradict a previous Saudi statement quoting Turkish intelligence as saying the killing had been premeditated.

Chief Prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb said that of the 21 people in custody, 11 have been indicted and referred to trial, and that he would seek the death penalty against five of the suspects.

Khashoggi’s killers set their plans in motion on Sept. 29, the prosecutor said, adding that the killers drugged and killed the writer in the consulate before dismembering the body and handing it over for disposal by an unidentified local collaborator.

The body has not been found.

The latest Saudi account failed to appease officials in Turkey, who are insisting that the killing and its cover-up were carried out by the highest levels of government.

“We did not find some of his explanations to be satisfactory,” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after the Saudi announcement.

“Those who gave the order, the real perpetrators need to be revealed. This process cannot be closed down in this way,” he added.

The Turkish government is demanding the suspects be put on trial in Turkey.

Hours after the prosecutor’s announcement, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters the crown prince had nothing to do with the killing.

“His royal highness the crown prince has nothing to do with this issue,” he said. Jubeir said the kingdom is investigating and holding those responsible to account “to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” He added, “Sometimes mistakes happen ... sometimes people exceed their authority.”

Through a series of orchestrated leaks, including audio of the killing shared with Western intelligence, Turkey has tried to keep pressure on the crown prince, who sees Turkey as a regional rival.

Turkey alleges that among those sent to Istanbul was a forensics expert.

In an apparent reference this specialist, Shalan said the organizer of the operation called on a specialist to be part of the team to erase evidence if Khashoggi needed to be forcibly returned to Saudi Arabia.

Prosecutors said this specialist was working without the direct knowledge of his boss.

Among the high-level officials incriminated in connection with the killing is former deputy intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri, who was fired after the killing. Assiri, believed to have been a close confidant of the crown prince, and former royal court adviser Qahtani are accused of planning and ordering Khashoggi’s forced return to Saudi Arabia. Prosecutors say the men formed the 15-man Saudi team sent to carry out the operation.

Saudi prosecutors said the men deemed Khashoggi a threat because of his work as a writer and because he was allegedly backed by groups and countries that are hostile to Saudi Arabia.

However, Saudi prosecutors stopped short of accusing Assiri or Qahtani of ordering the killing itself.

Readers Comments (0)

Add your comment

Enter the security code below*


Can't read this? Try Another.