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Saudi Arabia |
31 dec 2018
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Turkish media have aired new footage, which shows members of a Saudi hit squad carrying bags reportedly containing the remains of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was assassinated inside Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
A Turkish investigation has found that the body of Khashoggi – an outspoken critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman— had been dismembered shortly after his murder inside the diplomatic mission on October 2. According to the findings of the probe, a 15-member alleged “hit squad” was sent to kill the journalist in a “premeditated murder” operation. |
It was later reported that Khashoggi’s killers may have taken his dismembered body out of Turkey in luggage.
Turkish news channel A Haber has now released a new video, showing the arrival of the Saudi team’s members at the Saudi consul-general’s residence – located several hundred meters from the consulate – on the day Khashoggi was murdered.
They are said to be transferring the journalist’s body parts in five suitcases and two black plastic bags.
No evidence has yet shown the suitcases and bags were taken out of the counsel’s residence.
Turkish police and forensic investigators conducted a thorough search of the Saudi consul general’s residence in the aftermath of the murder.
Reports said at the time that they have collected “samples” which could be “convincing in terms of evidence” in the case of the killing.
The council Mohammed al-Otaibi fled Istanbul to Riyadh four days after Khashoggi’s murder and only hours after Turkish investigators began their search for evidence.
The murder sparked international outrage against the Saudi kingdom and its crown prince, who is widely believed to have ordered the killing.
Saudi officials have sought to distance bin Salman from the murder, insisting Khashoggi was killed in a “rogue operation,” only after initially claiming he had left the building unharmed.
Turkish news channel A Haber has now released a new video, showing the arrival of the Saudi team’s members at the Saudi consul-general’s residence – located several hundred meters from the consulate – on the day Khashoggi was murdered.
They are said to be transferring the journalist’s body parts in five suitcases and two black plastic bags.
No evidence has yet shown the suitcases and bags were taken out of the counsel’s residence.
Turkish police and forensic investigators conducted a thorough search of the Saudi consul general’s residence in the aftermath of the murder.
Reports said at the time that they have collected “samples” which could be “convincing in terms of evidence” in the case of the killing.
The council Mohammed al-Otaibi fled Istanbul to Riyadh four days after Khashoggi’s murder and only hours after Turkish investigators began their search for evidence.
The murder sparked international outrage against the Saudi kingdom and its crown prince, who is widely believed to have ordered the killing.
Saudi officials have sought to distance bin Salman from the murder, insisting Khashoggi was killed in a “rogue operation,” only after initially claiming he had left the building unharmed.
29 nov 2018
Saudi Arabia has signed a letter of offer and acceptance with the United States for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system, taking a significant step toward closing a $15 billion deal, a US State Department spokesperson says.
The State Department spokesperson, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday that the Saudis and US officials signed the crucial government-to-government document earlier this week, paving the way for the massive sale of 44 THAAD launchers, missiles and related equipment.
The State Department spokesman said the deal supports the “long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the [Persian] Gulf region” in the face of regional threats.
Washington and Riyadh entered formal discussions for THAAD in December 2016. A Saudi official told Reuters in October that the deal could well be closed by the end of the year.
Congressional approval for the THAAD missile defense system sale was given in 2017. The US had already supplied the advanced missile system to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, both Saudi Arabia's neighbors.
The system has also been deployed to South Korea to allegedly address US regional allies' concerns about a possible strike by North Korea, amid ongoing tensions over Pyongyang's ballistic missile tests and nuclear weapons program.
During his first trip to Saudi Arabia last year, President Donald Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with the Saudis, with options to sell up to $350 billion over a decade.
Facilitated by Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, the massive package includes missiles, bombs, armored personnel carriers, combat ships, THAAD missile systems and munitions.
The announcement generated backlash in Congress, with Republican Senator Rand Paul promising to work to block at least parts of the package.
The Trump administration is looking to loosen restrictions on American arms sales to boost the country's weapons industry.
The development comes as the US is under pressure to suspend its arms sales to the Saudi regime, which has been waging a deadly military aggression against Yemen since 2015.
According to a new report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, the Saudi-led war has so far claimed the lives of around 56,000 Yemenis.
Defying President Trump’s pro-Saudi policies, the Republican-controlled US Senate voted on Wednesday to advance a resolution to end US military support for the Saudi-led coalition waging war on Yemen.
The war in Yemen has been the focus of international attention since the assassination of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in October, which is widely believed to have been ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Meanwhile, pressure was mounting on the Trump administration over supporting Riyadh following the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist.
Trump has thrown his support behind bin Salman, citing the importance of defense deals in defending his decision to stick with Riyadh in the aftermath of the slaying.
The CIA has provided the administration with a tape of Khashoggi’s murder, which Trump has refused to listen to.
The State Department spokesperson, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday that the Saudis and US officials signed the crucial government-to-government document earlier this week, paving the way for the massive sale of 44 THAAD launchers, missiles and related equipment.
The State Department spokesman said the deal supports the “long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the [Persian] Gulf region” in the face of regional threats.
Washington and Riyadh entered formal discussions for THAAD in December 2016. A Saudi official told Reuters in October that the deal could well be closed by the end of the year.
Congressional approval for the THAAD missile defense system sale was given in 2017. The US had already supplied the advanced missile system to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, both Saudi Arabia's neighbors.
The system has also been deployed to South Korea to allegedly address US regional allies' concerns about a possible strike by North Korea, amid ongoing tensions over Pyongyang's ballistic missile tests and nuclear weapons program.
During his first trip to Saudi Arabia last year, President Donald Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with the Saudis, with options to sell up to $350 billion over a decade.
Facilitated by Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, the massive package includes missiles, bombs, armored personnel carriers, combat ships, THAAD missile systems and munitions.
The announcement generated backlash in Congress, with Republican Senator Rand Paul promising to work to block at least parts of the package.
The Trump administration is looking to loosen restrictions on American arms sales to boost the country's weapons industry.
The development comes as the US is under pressure to suspend its arms sales to the Saudi regime, which has been waging a deadly military aggression against Yemen since 2015.
According to a new report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, the Saudi-led war has so far claimed the lives of around 56,000 Yemenis.
Defying President Trump’s pro-Saudi policies, the Republican-controlled US Senate voted on Wednesday to advance a resolution to end US military support for the Saudi-led coalition waging war on Yemen.
The war in Yemen has been the focus of international attention since the assassination of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in October, which is widely believed to have been ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Meanwhile, pressure was mounting on the Trump administration over supporting Riyadh following the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist.
Trump has thrown his support behind bin Salman, citing the importance of defense deals in defending his decision to stick with Riyadh in the aftermath of the slaying.
The CIA has provided the administration with a tape of Khashoggi’s murder, which Trump has refused to listen to.
28 nov 2018
The Republican-controlled US Senate is defying President Donald Trump’s pro-Saudi policies by advancing a bipartisan bid to end the country’s support for the war on Yemen amid tensions over Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.
Although the White House had urged a "no" vote, American senators voted 63-37 Wednesday to consider ending Washington’s support for the Saudi-led aggression on Yemen.
The exact same measure failed on the chamber’s floor in a 55 to 44 vote in March.
Co-sponsored by Senators Bernie Sanders, Mike Lee and Chris Murphy, the bill would oblige Trump to cease support for the Saudi-led coalition via invoking the War Powers Resolution of 1973 (WPR).
A similar measure has to be taken in the House, where some Republican have shown opposition.
In a rare classified briefing ahead of the Senate vote, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis addressed the senators, yet failed to sway the undecided votes necessary to halt the measure, which is against Trump’s interests.
The White House released a statement [pdf], warning that such a measure "would harm bilateral relationships in the region and negatively impact the ability of the United States to prevent the spread of violent extremist organizations."
It further suggested that the president might veto such resolution.
“His advisors would recommend that he veto the joint resolution.”
Meanwhile, pressure was mounting on the Trump administration over supporting the kingdom in the wake of Khashoggi’s murder.
Trump has thrown his support behind Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who reportedly ordered the assassination of the dissident journalist and Washington Post columnist at the Saudi consulate in Turkey last month.
The CIA has provided the administration with a tape of Khashoggi’s murder, which Trump has refused to listen to.
The Saudi-led war on Yemen has also led to a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country. The UN has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger. According to the world body, Yemen is suffering from the most severe famine in more than 100 years. tweet
The new measure at Congress would harm ties between Trump and the Saudi de facto leader as the two are preparing to take part at the G20 gathering in Buenos Aires from November 30 and December 1.
Although the White House had urged a "no" vote, American senators voted 63-37 Wednesday to consider ending Washington’s support for the Saudi-led aggression on Yemen.
The exact same measure failed on the chamber’s floor in a 55 to 44 vote in March.
Co-sponsored by Senators Bernie Sanders, Mike Lee and Chris Murphy, the bill would oblige Trump to cease support for the Saudi-led coalition via invoking the War Powers Resolution of 1973 (WPR).
A similar measure has to be taken in the House, where some Republican have shown opposition.
In a rare classified briefing ahead of the Senate vote, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis addressed the senators, yet failed to sway the undecided votes necessary to halt the measure, which is against Trump’s interests.
The White House released a statement [pdf], warning that such a measure "would harm bilateral relationships in the region and negatively impact the ability of the United States to prevent the spread of violent extremist organizations."
It further suggested that the president might veto such resolution.
“His advisors would recommend that he veto the joint resolution.”
Meanwhile, pressure was mounting on the Trump administration over supporting the kingdom in the wake of Khashoggi’s murder.
Trump has thrown his support behind Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who reportedly ordered the assassination of the dissident journalist and Washington Post columnist at the Saudi consulate in Turkey last month.
The CIA has provided the administration with a tape of Khashoggi’s murder, which Trump has refused to listen to.
The Saudi-led war on Yemen has also led to a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country. The UN has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger. According to the world body, Yemen is suffering from the most severe famine in more than 100 years. tweet
The new measure at Congress would harm ties between Trump and the Saudi de facto leader as the two are preparing to take part at the G20 gathering in Buenos Aires from November 30 and December 1.
17 nov 2019
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The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the gruesome murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Arab kingdom’s consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul last month, a report says.
In a report published on Friday, The Washington Post, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, said that the American spy agency had reached the conclusion that the Saudi de facto ruler had ordered the assassination, contradicting Riyadh’s claims that he was not involved in the killing. According to the American daily newspaper, to which Khashoggi was a contributing columnist, in conducting its assessment, the CIA examined |
multiple sources of intelligence, including a phone call that the prince’s brother Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi ambassador to the US, had with the ill-fated journo, telling him to go to the Saudi diplomatic mission and giving him assurances that it would be safe to do so.
But shortly after the report was published, the Saudi ambassador to the US denied in a tweet he had spoken to the slain journalist by phone or had suggested he go to Turkey.
Khashoggi, 59, an outspoken critic of bin Salman, disappeared after he entered the Saudi diplomatic mission in the Turkish city on October 2 to complete some paperwork for his forthcoming marriage.
However, as diplomatic pressure grew tremendously on Riyadh to give an account on the mysterious fate of its national, in an unexpected statement last month, Saudi Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb admitted that Khashoggi had been killed in a “premeditated” attack in the consulate.
Saudi authorities have so far said that they do not know the whereabouts of the journo’s body, which is widely believed to be dismembered or dissolved in acid, or both.
Earlier this month, Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Irfan Fidan said the ill-fated journalist had been strangled upon his arrival in the consulate, and then his body was dismembered and destroyed.
On Thursday, the Saudi public prosecutor released the results of the long-awaited investigation into the death of Khashoggi, saying a team of Saudi agents who had been dispatched to Istanbul with orders to bring him home alive had instead killed the journalist and dismembered his body.
“After the murder the victim’s body was dismembered by the individuals that have committed the murder and was transferred outside the consulate building,” the statement said, concluding that the murder had been authorized by a minor official.
Riyadh claims that the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge about any murder plot.
The prosecutor’s conclusion contradicted assertions by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had said the orders to kill Khashoggi had come from “the highest levels of the Saudi government.”
Now, the CIA’s assessment is the most definitive to date linking the crown prince to the operation and complicates the efforts made by US President Donald Trump’s administration to preserve its relationship with a close ally.
The American president has so far resisted pinning the blame for the killing on Mohammed bin Salman, who holds a close relationship with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser.
The CIA, according to the report, also examined a call placed from inside the diplomatic mission after murdering Khashoggi by an alleged member of the Saudi hit team, Maher Mutreb, a security official who has often been seen at Mohammed bin Salman’s side and who was photographed entering and exiting the consulate on the day of the killing.
Mutreb called Saud al-Qahtani, then one of the top aides to the crown prince, and informed him that the operation had been completed, it added.
Erdogan, Trump vow no cover-up in Khashoggi case
Through a phone call on Friday evening, Erdogan and Trump agreed that all aspects of the murder of Khashoggi should be uncovered, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.
“Agreeing on the need to shed light on all aspects and to prevent a cover-up of Jamal Khashoggi’s slaying, the leaders have stressed the importance of close cooperation between Turkey and the United States in the fight against all terrorist organizations,” it added.
The gruesome crime has already caused an international uproar against Saudi Arabia, prompted a number of member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council earlier this month to grill Saudi delegation, led by Bandar al-Aiban, head of the Human Rights Commission of the Arab kingdom, over the murder.
But shortly after the report was published, the Saudi ambassador to the US denied in a tweet he had spoken to the slain journalist by phone or had suggested he go to Turkey.
Khashoggi, 59, an outspoken critic of bin Salman, disappeared after he entered the Saudi diplomatic mission in the Turkish city on October 2 to complete some paperwork for his forthcoming marriage.
However, as diplomatic pressure grew tremendously on Riyadh to give an account on the mysterious fate of its national, in an unexpected statement last month, Saudi Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb admitted that Khashoggi had been killed in a “premeditated” attack in the consulate.
Saudi authorities have so far said that they do not know the whereabouts of the journo’s body, which is widely believed to be dismembered or dissolved in acid, or both.
Earlier this month, Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Irfan Fidan said the ill-fated journalist had been strangled upon his arrival in the consulate, and then his body was dismembered and destroyed.
On Thursday, the Saudi public prosecutor released the results of the long-awaited investigation into the death of Khashoggi, saying a team of Saudi agents who had been dispatched to Istanbul with orders to bring him home alive had instead killed the journalist and dismembered his body.
“After the murder the victim’s body was dismembered by the individuals that have committed the murder and was transferred outside the consulate building,” the statement said, concluding that the murder had been authorized by a minor official.
Riyadh claims that the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge about any murder plot.
The prosecutor’s conclusion contradicted assertions by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had said the orders to kill Khashoggi had come from “the highest levels of the Saudi government.”
Now, the CIA’s assessment is the most definitive to date linking the crown prince to the operation and complicates the efforts made by US President Donald Trump’s administration to preserve its relationship with a close ally.
The American president has so far resisted pinning the blame for the killing on Mohammed bin Salman, who holds a close relationship with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser.
The CIA, according to the report, also examined a call placed from inside the diplomatic mission after murdering Khashoggi by an alleged member of the Saudi hit team, Maher Mutreb, a security official who has often been seen at Mohammed bin Salman’s side and who was photographed entering and exiting the consulate on the day of the killing.
Mutreb called Saud al-Qahtani, then one of the top aides to the crown prince, and informed him that the operation had been completed, it added.
Erdogan, Trump vow no cover-up in Khashoggi case
Through a phone call on Friday evening, Erdogan and Trump agreed that all aspects of the murder of Khashoggi should be uncovered, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.
“Agreeing on the need to shed light on all aspects and to prevent a cover-up of Jamal Khashoggi’s slaying, the leaders have stressed the importance of close cooperation between Turkey and the United States in the fight against all terrorist organizations,” it added.
The gruesome crime has already caused an international uproar against Saudi Arabia, prompted a number of member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council earlier this month to grill Saudi delegation, led by Bandar al-Aiban, head of the Human Rights Commission of the Arab kingdom, over the murder.
13 nov 2019
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A phone call recording collected by the Turkish intelligence links the brutal murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi to the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MbS, The New York Times reports.
Citing three people familiar with the recording, The Times on Monday reported a secret phone conversation made by Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, a member of the 15-man Saudi hit squad that killed Khashoggi, to a superior believed to be bin Salman’s aide. In the phone call, which came shortly after Khashoggi’s murder on October 2 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Mutreb instructed his superior in |
Arabic to “tell your boss” that the murder mission had been accomplished.
American intelligence officials said “your boss” was a reference to MbS.
Meanwhile, Turkish intelligence officers told American officials they believed that Mutreb was speaking to bin Salman’s aide. Mutreb himself is a security officer who has frequently traveled with the Saudi crown prince.
According to the report, intelligence officials view the recording as “some of the strongest evidence” linking bin Salman to the murder of his outspoken critic.
“A phone call like that is about as close to a smoking gun as you are going to get,” said former CIA officer Bruce O. Riedel. “It is pretty incriminating evidence.”
Saudi officials, however, denied that the crown prince “had any knowledge whatsoever” of Khashoggi’s killing.
Riyadh finally acknowledged that Khashoggi had been murdered in a “premeditated” operation, after weeks of denials of any involvement in his disappearance.
Turkey’s chief prosecutor said the Washington Post columnist had been strangled upon arrival at the Saudi consulate and then dismembered.
A source at Turkish attorney general’s office said Saudi authorities had used acid and other chemicals to dispose of the body.
American intelligence officials said “your boss” was a reference to MbS.
Meanwhile, Turkish intelligence officers told American officials they believed that Mutreb was speaking to bin Salman’s aide. Mutreb himself is a security officer who has frequently traveled with the Saudi crown prince.
According to the report, intelligence officials view the recording as “some of the strongest evidence” linking bin Salman to the murder of his outspoken critic.
“A phone call like that is about as close to a smoking gun as you are going to get,” said former CIA officer Bruce O. Riedel. “It is pretty incriminating evidence.”
Saudi officials, however, denied that the crown prince “had any knowledge whatsoever” of Khashoggi’s killing.
Riyadh finally acknowledged that Khashoggi had been murdered in a “premeditated” operation, after weeks of denials of any involvement in his disappearance.
Turkey’s chief prosecutor said the Washington Post columnist had been strangled upon arrival at the Saudi consulate and then dismembered.
A source at Turkish attorney general’s office said Saudi authorities had used acid and other chemicals to dispose of the body.
Separately on Tuesday, Turkey’s Daily Sabah daily released X-ray pictures of the Saudi hit squad’s luggage taken at airport security checks.
The photos showed a large scissor, scalpel and an electroshock device.
The latest revelations could deal another blow to Saudi attempts to distance bin Salman from the gruesome murder, which has drawn an international outcry.
The call was part of a recording that the Turks played for CIA chief Gina Haspel during her visit to Ankara last month.
Turkey said it had shared the audio recordings with several countries, including Saudi Arabia and the US.
It is not clear how many recordings the Turkish intelligence is in possession of. Reuters cited two sources with knowledge of the issue as saying that Ankara has several of them.
On Monday, Canada – which is involved in its own diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia over the kingdom’s human rights violations -- confirmed that it had been “fully briefed on what Turkey had to share.”
“Canada’s intelligence agencies have been working very closely on this issue with Turkish intelligence,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. “We continue to be engaged with our allies on the investigation into accountability for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and we are in discussions with our like-minded allies as to the next steps toward Saudi Arabia.”
Erdogan calls recordings ‘appalling’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday described the audio recordings Ankara has shared with Western states as “appalling.”
“The recordings are really appalling. Indeed when the Saudi intelligence officer listened to the recordings he was so shocked he said: This one must have taken heroin, only someone who takes heroin would do this,” he added.
Erdogan said it was clear the murder had been planned, and that the order came from the top level of Saudi authorities, but that he could not think such a thing of King Salman.
“The crown prince says ‘I will clarify the matter, I will do what is necessary.’ We are waiting patiently,” Erdogan said.
The perpetrators were among 18 suspects detained in Saudi Arabia, said the Turkish president. “It must be revealed who gave them the order to murder.”
Meanwhile, US Representative Adam B. Schiff told The New York Times that investigators were unlikely to collect a piece of evidence that incontrovertibly links bin Salman to Khashoggi’s death.
“You are not going to have any of the people who carried out the murder speak openly about who they got their orders from or who is in the loop on it,” Schiff said. “That is not realistic to expect.”
Schiff further vowed to probe Khashoggi’s killing and examine Saudi Arabia’s actions in the Middle East, including its military campaign in Yemen, when he takes charge of the House Intelligence Committee.
“We need to do our own due diligence, we need to make sure we are getting good intelligence, and we need to make sure the administration doesn’t misrepresent to the country what foreign actors are doing,” he added.
The photos showed a large scissor, scalpel and an electroshock device.
The latest revelations could deal another blow to Saudi attempts to distance bin Salman from the gruesome murder, which has drawn an international outcry.
The call was part of a recording that the Turks played for CIA chief Gina Haspel during her visit to Ankara last month.
Turkey said it had shared the audio recordings with several countries, including Saudi Arabia and the US.
It is not clear how many recordings the Turkish intelligence is in possession of. Reuters cited two sources with knowledge of the issue as saying that Ankara has several of them.
On Monday, Canada – which is involved in its own diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia over the kingdom’s human rights violations -- confirmed that it had been “fully briefed on what Turkey had to share.”
“Canada’s intelligence agencies have been working very closely on this issue with Turkish intelligence,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. “We continue to be engaged with our allies on the investigation into accountability for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and we are in discussions with our like-minded allies as to the next steps toward Saudi Arabia.”
Erdogan calls recordings ‘appalling’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday described the audio recordings Ankara has shared with Western states as “appalling.”
“The recordings are really appalling. Indeed when the Saudi intelligence officer listened to the recordings he was so shocked he said: This one must have taken heroin, only someone who takes heroin would do this,” he added.
Erdogan said it was clear the murder had been planned, and that the order came from the top level of Saudi authorities, but that he could not think such a thing of King Salman.
“The crown prince says ‘I will clarify the matter, I will do what is necessary.’ We are waiting patiently,” Erdogan said.
The perpetrators were among 18 suspects detained in Saudi Arabia, said the Turkish president. “It must be revealed who gave them the order to murder.”
Meanwhile, US Representative Adam B. Schiff told The New York Times that investigators were unlikely to collect a piece of evidence that incontrovertibly links bin Salman to Khashoggi’s death.
“You are not going to have any of the people who carried out the murder speak openly about who they got their orders from or who is in the loop on it,” Schiff said. “That is not realistic to expect.”
Schiff further vowed to probe Khashoggi’s killing and examine Saudi Arabia’s actions in the Middle East, including its military campaign in Yemen, when he takes charge of the House Intelligence Committee.
“We need to do our own due diligence, we need to make sure we are getting good intelligence, and we need to make sure the administration doesn’t misrepresent to the country what foreign actors are doing,” he added.
10 nov 2019
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A senior Turkish journalist has revealed bits from a secret audio tape that was allegedly recorded from the brutal assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, saying the slain man begged for his life before he died at the hand of killers.
Nazif Karaman, head of investigation department at the Daily Sabah, a Turkish newspaper, said Saturday that people who killed Khashoggi put a bag on his head to strangle and suffocate him. “I’m choking, put this bag away from my head, I’m scared of claustrophobia,” Khashoggi said before he died, according to Karaman who shared the information with the Qatari-based news channel Al Jazeera. tweet Karaman based his account of the brutal killing on an audio tape that Turkish authorities say can prove Khashogi’s assassination in the Consulate on October 2 was pre-mediated. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Ankara had shared the audio with Saudi officials as well as intelligence services from four Western countries. In his interview with the Al Jazeera, Karaman, who is believed to be close to the Turkish government, said the strangulation of Khashoggi lasted for seven minutes. He also cited information from Turkish intelligence officials, saying that the |
15-member Saudi hit squad that had traveled to Istanbul to kill Khashoggi in the kingdom’s consulate spent 15 minutes to dismember Khashoggi’s body after he was killed.
The killers, he said, stretched plastic bags in the room where Khashoggi was murdered to prevent his blood from spreading on the floor. Salah al-Tabiki, a member of the team that had been introduced in media reports as a forensic expert, then chopped Khashoggi’s body into five parts to allow other people to stuff them in five large bags. The bags were then transferred to a car belonging to the Consulate to transport them to the outside of the diplomatic mission.
Karaman did not elaborate on how the Saudi assassination team managed to dispose of Khashoggi’s body, a question that remains unsolved in Turkey’s investigation. He said, however, that the Saudi team had traveled to Turkey with some special “tools and equipment”, adding that the pictures and details of the gadgets will be published by Daily Sabah in the coming days.
The journalist said the Turkish newspaper is also planning to release details of the audio recording from Khashoggi’s assassination to shed more light on how the journalist was killed in the Saudi Consulate.
The killers, he said, stretched plastic bags in the room where Khashoggi was murdered to prevent his blood from spreading on the floor. Salah al-Tabiki, a member of the team that had been introduced in media reports as a forensic expert, then chopped Khashoggi’s body into five parts to allow other people to stuff them in five large bags. The bags were then transferred to a car belonging to the Consulate to transport them to the outside of the diplomatic mission.
Karaman did not elaborate on how the Saudi assassination team managed to dispose of Khashoggi’s body, a question that remains unsolved in Turkey’s investigation. He said, however, that the Saudi team had traveled to Turkey with some special “tools and equipment”, adding that the pictures and details of the gadgets will be published by Daily Sabah in the coming days.
The journalist said the Turkish newspaper is also planning to release details of the audio recording from Khashoggi’s assassination to shed more light on how the journalist was killed in the Saudi Consulate.
