Middle East

Saudis now say Khashoggi killed in consulate, after claiming he left alive

Fridays confirmation marks astounding reversal from earlier statements by Saudi officials (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia confirmed late Friday that Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in Istanbul.

In a statement on Saudi state television, the country's chief prosecutor said a fight broke out between Khashoggi and "people who met him" in the consulate. The fight resulted in Khashoggi's death, the prosecutor said.

Fridays confirmation marked an astounding reversal from earlier statements by Saudi officials who insisted that Khashoggi had left the consulate shortly after entering it on 2 October, when he was last seen publicly.

Riyadh also fired top Saudi general Ahmed al-Assiri and a senior adviser to the royal court, Saoud al-Qahtani, Saudi media reported. Assistant to intelligence chief and pilot Mohammed Bin Saleh Al Rumeih was also dismissed.

Last week, Turkish officials told MEE and US media outlets that Saudi Arabia was preparing to admit Khashoggi was killed in the consulate, but would attempt to absolve Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of any responsibility. The New York Times reported on Thursday that Riyadh was looking to blame Assiri for the murder in an effort to shield the crown prince from blame.

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who earlier pledged to “sanction the hell out Saudi Arabia” if it was involved in Khashoggis murder, was quick to express scepticism about the Saudi account.

"First we were told Mr Khashoggi supposedly left the consulate and there was blanket denial of any Saudi involvement," he wrote on twitter. "Now, a fight breaks out and hes killed in the consulate, all without knowledge of Crown Prince."

Bob Menendez, the ranking Democrat on the Senates Foreign Relations Committee, called the Saudi story a “calculated admission”.

We have proven that international pressure can succeed. Our united outrage clearly factored into the Saudi govs calculated admission

The Global Magnitsky Act doesnt have exceptions for accidents. Even if Khashoggi died because of an altercation, thats no excuse for his murder https://t.co/tLOtyHtz2g

— Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) October 19, 2018

The White House released a vague statement saying it acknowledged that the Saudi investigation into the matter was “progressing”.

“We will continue to closely follow the international investigations into this tragic incident and advocate for justice that is timely, transparent, and in accordance with all due process,” President Donald Trumps spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in the statement. “We are saddened to hear confirmation of Mr Khashoggis death, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family, fiancée, and friends.”

A Turkish source who has listened in full to an audio recording of the Saudi journalist's last moments told Middle East Eye that Khashoggi was tortured and killed in seven minutes inside the building.

READ MORE ►

Jamal Khashoggi's killing took seven minutes, Turkish source tells MEE

“There was no attempt to interrogate him. They had come to kill him,” the source told MEE.

Salah Muhammad al-Tubaigy, who has been identified as the head of forensic evidence in the Saudi general security department, was one of a 15-member squad who arrived in Ankara earlier that day on a private jet.

Tubaigy began to cut Khashoggis body up on a table in the study while he was still alive, the Turkish source said.

On Friday night, a tweet Qahtani, the dismissed adviser, wrote last year began making the rounds again on social media:

“Do you think I rebuke (others) on my own accord without direction? I am an employee and a loyal executer to the orders of my master, the king, and my master, his highness the crown prince,” he wrote at the time.

On Friday, the Saudi prosecutor added that the investigation was still underway and 18 suspects had been arrested so far.

Saudi state TV outlet Alekhbariya also reported that King Salman is forming a committee – to be headed by the crown prince himself – that will be tasked with “reconstructing the leadership of general intelligence, modernising its system and clearly defining its responsibilities”.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Arabia's king spoke by phone late Friday, stressing the importance of maintaining full cooperation between Ankara and Riyadh as they investigate Khashoggi's disappearance, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

The leaders also shared information on the independent investigations being conducted by both countries, Anadolu said.

Original Article

[contf]
[contfnew]

middle east eye

[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]

Related Articles

Back to top button