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News > World

Turkey Prosecutor Confirms Jamal Khashoggi Was Strangled, Dismembered in Saudi Consulate

  • People protest against the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy in London, Britain, Oct. 26 2018.

    People protest against the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy in London, Britain, Oct. 26 2018. | Photo: Reuters

Published 31 October 2018
Opinion

Fidan's statement followed the visit of Saudi Attorney General Saud al Mujeb to assist Turkey's investigation

Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor Irfan Fidan issued a statement Wednesday on the manner of death and disposal of the body of slain Saudi critic and journalist Jamal Khashoggi confirming earlier media reports that he was strangled and his body dismembered in Istanbul’s Saudi consulate.

Fidan's statement followed the visit of Saudi Attorney General Saud al Mujeb to assist Turkey's investigation into the killing of the prominent journalist and government critic.

Mojeb later said Khashoggi's killing was premeditated and Riyadh said 18 suspects had been arrested. But Turkey, which released a stream of evidence undermining Riyadh's early denials, has demanded more details including the whereabouts of Khashoggi's body and who ordered his killing.

"Despite our well-intentioned efforts to reveal the truth, no concrete results have come out of those meetings," the Istanbul prosecutor's office said of the talks Monday and Tuesday between Mojeb and Istanbul chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, who has demanded more information from Saudi Arabia, said on Tuesday Fidan had asked Mojeb to disclose who sent a 15-strong team from Riyadh which is suspected of involvement in the killing.

The prosecutor's statement said Fidan also repeated Ankara's request for the 18 suspects to be extradited to face trial in Turkey and asked Mojeb to disclose the identity of a "local cooperator" who, according to a Saudi official, disposed of Khashoggi's body.

In a written response, Mojeb invited Fidan to Saudi Arabia to question the suspects and determine "the fate of the body" and establish whether the killing was premeditated, the Turkish prosecutor's statement said.

It said Mojeb's response also distanced Riyadh from the idea that a "local cooperator" had been involved, saying that Saudi authorities had not made an official statement to that effect.

Mojeb left Turkey Wednesday evening after a three-day visit during which he also held talks at the offices of Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (MIT).

Erdogan's government has pressed Riyadh to conclude its investigation as soon as possible. "The whole truth must be revealed," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said this week.

Erdogan has also called on Saudi Arabia to disclose who ordered Khashoggi's killing. "There is no point in procrastinating or trying to save some people from under this," he told reporters Tuesday.

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