Saudi officials murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in their Istanbul consulate after plotting his death for days, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday, contradicting Saudia Arabia’s explanation that the writer was accidentally killed.
He demanded that the kingdom reveal the identities of all involved, regardless of rank.
Erdogan also said he wants Saudi Arabia to allow 18 suspects that it detained for the Saudi’s killing to be tried in Turkish courts, setting up further complications with the Saudi government, which has said it is conducting its own investigation and will punish those involved.
Photo: Reuters
“To blame such an incident on a handful of security and intelligence members would not satisfy us or the international community,” Erdogan said in a speech to ruling party lawmakers in parliament.
“Saudi Arabia has taken an important step by admitting the murder. As of now, we expect them to openly bring to light those responsible — from the highest ranked to the lowest — and to bring them to justice,” he said.
Erdogan’s speech was previously pitched as revealing the “naked truth” about Khashoggi’s slaying. Instead it served merely to put a named source to information already circulated by anonymous officials and the Turkish press in the days since the columnist for the Washington Post walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
However, he kept pressure on the kingdom with his demands for Turkish prosecution of the suspects as well as punishment for the plot’s masterminds.
“All evidence gathered shows that Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a savage murder. To cover up such a savagery would hurt the human conscience,” he said.
Erdogan did not mention Saudi Arabia’s assertive Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in his speech, though officials linked to the royal have been implicated in the killing.
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