Saudi Arabia yesterday faced a growing chorus of incredulity over its belated explanation of how journalist Jamal Khashoggi died inside its Istanbul consulate, as world powers demanded answers and the whereabouts of his body.
After two weeks of denials, Saudi authorities on Saturday admitted that the Washington Post columnist was killed after entering the consulate on Oct. 2, a disappearance that sparked outrage and plunged the Gulf kingdom into a spiraling international crisis.
Turkish officials have accused Riyadh of carrying out a state-sponsored killing and dismembering the body, with pro-government media in Turkey reporting the existence of video and audio evidence to back those claims.
Photo: Reuters
Police have searched a forest in Istanbul where they believe his body may have been dumped.
After initially saying Khashoggi left the consulate unharmed, and then that they were investigating his disappearance, Saudi authorities backtracked and admitted the 60-year-old was killed in a “brawl” with officials inside the consulate.
However, that narrative — combined with the absence of Khashoggi’s body — quickly drew skepticism and scorn from many, including staunch allies.
Ankara vowed to reveal all the details of its own inquiry as US President Donald Trump said he was unsatisfied with Saudi Arabia’s response to the columnist’s death while the EU, Germany, France, the UK, Australia, Canada and the UN also demanded greater clarity.
“This feels the most seismic moment in Middle East politics since the Arab Spring,” tweeted Michael Stephens, a Middle East expert at the London-based Royal United Services Institute. “If only Jamal knew what impact he would have on a region he cared so deeply about.”
Britain was among the latest countries to question Riyadh’s version of events.
“I don’t think it’s credible,” British Secretary of State for Exiting the EU Dominic Raab told the BBC, adding there was a “serious question mark over the account that has been given.”
“We support the Turkish investigation into it and the British government wants to see people held to account for that death,” he said.
Ankara has said it has a “debt of honor” to reveal what happened.
“We are not accusing anyone in advance, but we don’t accept anything to remain covered [up]” Justice and Development Party spokesman Omer Celik said.
French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian said many questions remained unanswered, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged transparency, adding that “available reports on what happened in the Istanbul consulate are insufficient.”
US Senator Marco Rubio was stark in his assessment.
“Saudi Arabia’s changing stories on #KhashoggiMurder is getting old. The latest one about a fist fight gone bad is bizarre,” he tweeted on Saturday, renewing his call for sanctions against those responsible.
The front pages of Saudi newspapers yesterday were branded with headlines of support for the kingdom’s government.
Okaz’s front page said “Justice continues ... accountability is coming,” while al-Riyadh said there was a “wide welcome” of the government’s “justice and firmness” in the case of Khashoggi.
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