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Saudi Arabia on Tuesday invited Turkish experts and relevant officials to visit its Istanbul Consulate to look into last week’s disappearance of a Saudi journalist.
According to diplomatic sources, a diplomatic note was sent to the Turkish Foreign Ministry inviting Turkish officials to visit the consulate, where Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering a week ago.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia conveys its regards to the brotherly Republic of Turkey,” began the note.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia invites Turkish experts and relevant officials to visit the Istanbul Consulate in line with the cooperation principle with the government of Republic of Turkey and due to the importance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia lays on finding the truth about Saudi Arabian citizen son of Hamza Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi's incident of disappearance."
Turkey's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the investigation into Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has been missing since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul a week ago, is "continuing intensively".Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a written statement that although the Vienna convention states that consulate buildings have immunity, they can be searched by host country authorities with the consent of the mission chief."The consulate building will be searched in the framework of the investigation," the statement said.Aksoy in the statement further asserted that Turkish judiciary, intelligence, and security units are "closely following" the developments on Khashoggi incident since it happened. He assured that relevant authorities are conducting "intense investigation" in efforts to reveal the fate of the journalist.Khashoggi, journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, has been missing since he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.Turkish police investigating the case of the missing journalist had said in a statement Saturday that 15 Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and entered the consulate while Khashoggi was inside.Istanbul prosecutors are investigating the incident, while the consulate said on Twitter that it was working in coordination with Turkish authorities.Claims emerge that footage of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder existsPossible last moments of missing Saudi journalist revealed Pompeo calls on Saudi govt to investigate Khashoggi disappearanceSaudi Arabia must show journalist made exit: Erdoğan
Saudi consulate in Istanbul will be searched: Turkish foreign ministry
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said earlier today that a "search will be conducted in the [consulate] building as part of the investigation."
Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, has been missing since he entered the consulate on Oct. 2.
Turkish police investigating the case said on Saturday that 15 Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and entered the consulate while Khashoggi was inside.
Istanbul prosecutors are investigating the incident, while the consulate said on Twitter that it was working in coordination with Turkish authorities.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for Saudi officials to prove their contention that Khashoggi left the consulate, as most accounts say the last he was seen was entering the building.
Three days before Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi went missing he said Saudi Arabia does not arrest “dissidents” but those with “independent minds”.Khashoggi, journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, has been missing since he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.BBC News on Tuesday published an off-air conversation with Khashoggi with a footnote, "We wouldn't normally broadcast an off-air conversation, but we've decided to make an exception, in light of the current circumstances."Prior to an interview with BBC Newshour in London, he said that he does not think he would ever be able to go back to Saudi Arabia.Claims emerge that footage of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder exists“See when I hear arrest of a friend who did nothing that is worth to be arrested, make me feel I shouldn’t go. I’m talking that friend of mine, who was arrested was not even talking -- maybe he was talking critically over something in a dinner party. That’s what we are becoming in Saudi Arabia and we are not used to that. We never experienced this,” he said.Recalling the arrest of Essam al-Zamel, a Saudi columnist and economist, Khashoggi told BBC: “Recently, a Saudi columnist, an economist, who was close to the royal court got arrest and that scared many people. Because here we are talking about somebody who is close to the government.“The people who are arrested are not dissidents they just have independent minds.”Possible last moments of missing Saudi journalist revealed Stating that he does not call himself “an opposition” to Saudi Arabia, he said: “I always say I’m just a writer, I want a free environment to write and speak my mind. That’s what I do on Washington Post. They gave me a platform to write freely and I wish I had that platform in my home.”Underscoring that Saudi Arabia is going through a “serious transformation” with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he quoted an English king: “What affects the people must be discussed by the people"."So, this serious transformation that is happening is not discussed [with the people].Pompeo calls on Saudi govt to investigate Khashoggi disappearance“The prince surprise us every couple of weeks, or months with a huge multi billion dollars project that wasn’t discussed in a parliament, wasn’t discussed in newspapers and the people just clap, say: 'we want more of it'."Things don't work like this."Turkish police investigating the case of missing journalist had said in a statement Saturday that 15 Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and entered the consulate while Khashoggi was inside.Istanbul prosecutors are investigating the incident, while the consulate said on Twitter that it was working in coordination with Turkish authorities.Turkey on Monday said it expects "full cooperation" from Saudi authorities to locate the missing journalist.Saudi Arabia must show journalist made exit: Erdoğan
Saudi Arabia arrests ‘independent minds’: Missing journo
The Washington Post on Tuesday published a surveillance image revealing missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi walking into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, just before he disappeared.The image also bore a date and time stamp reading, 2018-10-02, 13:14 p.m.The Post said "a person close to the investigation" had shared the image with them.Khashoggi, journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, has been missing since he entered the consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.Khashoggi, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Washington for the past year fearing retribution for his criticism of Saudi policies, went to the consulate last week to secure documents for his forthcoming marriage, according to his fiancée, who waited outside. He has not been heard of since.Turkish authorities believe he was murdered within the consulate walls, but the Saudi government has refused the claims and said accusations were baseless.On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged the Saudi consulate to prove whether or not Khashoggi exited the building after entering, saying that consulate officials "can't get away with [simply] saying 'he left the building.'"Turkish police also said that 15 Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and entered the consulate while Khashoggi was inside.Pompeo calls on Saudi govt to investigate Khashoggi disappearancePressure Saudis on Khashoggi case: Yemeni Nobel winnerSaudi Arabia must show journalist made exit: ErdoğanSaudis to pay price if journalist killed: US senatorTrump ‘concerned’ over fate of Saudi journalist
Possible last moments of missing Saudi journalist revealed
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday called on the government of Saudi Arabia to support "a thorough investigation" of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance and to be transparent about the results of that investigation.The disappearance of Khashoggi, previously a prominent newspaper editor in Saudi Arabia, has sparked global concern, particularly after Turkish sources said over the weekend that authorities believed he was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Pressure Saudis on Khashoggi case: Yemeni Nobel winnerSaudi Arabia must show journalist made exit: ErdoğanSaudis to pay price if journalist killed: US senator
Pompeo calls on Saudi govt to investigate Khashoggi disappearance