Turkey says wants Saudi Arabia to reveal ‘whole truth’ on Khashoggi killing

Turkey has called on Saudi Arabia to reveal the “whole truth” about the murder of dissident Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in the Arab kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, as Saudi public prosecutor held talks in the Turkish city.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu made the request on Monday, as Saudi Public Prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb arrived in Istanbul overnight, more than three weeks after he contradicted days of Saudi statements by asserting that the ill-fated journo was killed according to a plan, and not accidentally during a tussle in the diplomatic mission.

“The whole truth must be revealed. We believe this visit is important for these truths to come out,” said the Turkish top diplomat during a press conference on Monday, adding that Ankara was exerting “intense” efforts to reveal all the names behind the incident.

Khashoggi, 59, an outspoken critic of a critic of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had been living in self-imposed exile in the United States since 2017, when Saudi authorities launched a massive crackdown on dissent.

He was seeking to secure documentation for his forthcoming marriage when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, but never came out despite Riyadh’s initial claim that he exited the mission less than an hour after completing his paperwork.

The kingdom, however, later admitted that the journo had been murdered in the consulate during an interrogation that had gone wrong after diplomatic pressure grew tremendously on Riyadh to give an account on the mysterious fate of its national. However, it said that it did not know the whereabouts of the journo’s body, which is widely believed to be dismembered.

Cavusoglu on Monday said that the “body of Khashoggi couldn’t be reached yet”, calling on Saudi authorities to conclude the investigation as soon as possible.

Al-Mojeb, who has already held talks with his Turkish counterpart Irfan Fidan in Istanbul Caglayan Courthouse in the morning, said days earlier that “the suspects in the incident had committed their act with a premeditated intention.”

The Saudi top prosecutor, who has come to Turkey in an attempt to assist Turkish authorities’ ongoing investigation into Khashoggi’s killing, is expected to visit the Saudi consulate building later on Monday.

According to a report by Turkey's state broadcaster TRT Haber, Saudi officials at Monday's meeting asked Turkish officials to give them the whole investigation folder, including evidence, statements and footage. The Saudi request, however, was denied, the report added.

PressTV-Saudis must say who ordered killing: Erdogan

The Turkish president has urged the Saudis to disclose who ordered the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi and teh location of his body.

Turkish authorities believe that a 15-man security team from Saudi Arabia came to Turkey, hours before the incident, and then flew back to the Arab kingdom shortly after the killing. Ankara has already requested Riyadh to extradite the 15 suspects, but the request has been denied, with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said those behind the killing would be prosecuted in the kingdom.

On Sunday, British Sunday Express weekly, citing “highly-placed” intelligence sources, reported that a “member of the royal circle” of Saudi Arabia had ordered to kidnap the journalist and take him back to the Arab kingdom. But it is not clear whether the “member” had been Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “Whether he was not the original issuer we cannot say,” the unnamed sources added.

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