Turkey knows more than it has shared so far on Jamal Khashoggi’s killing, says President Erdogan
He urged Saudi Arabia to disclose the location of the journalist’s body.
Turkey has more information about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi than it has shared so far, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. He urged Saudi Arabia to disclose the location of Khashoggi’s body and the identity of the “local cooperator” who took the body from Saudi agents after the killing, Reuters reported.
A group of Saudi agents is believed to have been behind the murder of Khashoggi, which allegedly took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. The dissident journalist had gone missing after he entered the building that day, but it was not until October 20 that Riyadh admitted that he was killed. Saudi Arabia is under mounting international pressure as several nations have accused it of a cover-up. Erdogan had earlier called the murder a planned affair.
The Saudi public prosecutor will meet authorities in Istanbul on Sunday, Erdogan told members of his AK Party in Parliament on Friday. The prosecutor’s office had on Thursday said the killing appeared to be premeditated.
Russia expressed support for Saudi Arabia on Friday, and said it believes Saudi royals were not involved in the murder, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, Khashoggi’s eldest son Salah Khashoggi and his family have left Saudi Arabia and arrived in Washington DC on Thursday, AFP reported quoting the Human Rights Watch. Khashoggi himself had been living in self-imposed exile in the United States since 2017.
Human Rights Watch’s executive director for the Middle East and North America, Sarah Leah Whitson, confirmed that the family had left Saudi Arabia. Whitson said they were allowed to leave after a travel ban on Salah Khashoggi was lifted. Salah Khashoggi holds a dual US-Saudi citizenship, according to The Guardian.
Salah Khashoggi’s departure came a day after he and his family met King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the al-Yamama palace in Riyadh.
After Salah Khashoggi and his family arrived in the United States, State Department spokesperson Robert Palladino said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Saudi leaders in Riyadh earlier this month that Pompeo “wanted Salah Khashoggi returned to the United States”, reported ABC News.
“We are pleased that is the case,” Palladino said, adding that the US is continuing to press for “all the relevant facts” in the killing of Khashoggi. “We intend to consult with Congress and to work with other nations to hold accountable those responsible for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.”