Britain's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt
Britain said on Saturday it was considering the "next steps" after Saudi Arabia acknowledged for the first time that the missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at its consulate in Turkey.
"We send our condolences to Jamal Khashoggi's family after this confirmation of his death. We are considering the Saudi report and our next steps," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "As the Foreign Secretary has said, this was a terrible act and those responsible must be held to account."
Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that he died after a fight broke out between Khashoggi and people who met him in the consulate after two weeks of denials that it had anything to do with his disappearance.
Employees working at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul are giving testimony at the Turkish prosecutor’s office regarding the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Friday, according to reports.Fifteen Turkish employees of the consulate came to Istanbul's Caglayan courthouse to testify, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The staffers include drivers, accountants, and telephone operators.Turkish probe locates exact site of Khashoggi killing: Al JazeeraKhashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist and intellectual, has remained unaccounted for since Oct. 2, when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.On the same day of Khashoggi's disappearance, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while Khashoggi was still inside, according to Turkish police sources. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.Ever since he went missing, speculation has mounted that he was killed by the Saudi authorities, who have yet to provide a convincing explanation for his disappearance.Meanwhile, several countries -- including Turkey, the U.S. and the U.K. -- have continued to press Riyadh for clarification.Turkish and Saudi officials this week started conducting joint inspections at the consulate and consul general's residence as part of the investigation.Lost Saudi journo had urged Arab youth to fight tyrannyAs Khashoggi crisis grows, Saudi king asserts authority, checks son's power
Saudi consulate employees in Istanbul give testimony at prosecutor's office
The international community should introduce diplomatic sanctions against Saudi Arabia over the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said a prominent UK-based academic and political commentator on Friday.Dr. Daud Abdullah, who is also the director of the Middle East Monitor in London, said: "There is an issue of criminal accountability for those who ordered it [the alleged murder of Khashoggi] and for those who executed it."The Washington Post journalist has disappeared on Oct. 2 after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. He has since been feared dead.Speaking to Sky News channel, Abdullah drew parallels between the alleged murder in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and the nerve-agent attack in Salisbury, U.K.Turkey has not shared audio recordings with anyone, FM says"There is also a need for diplomatic sanctions the type of which we saw being imposed upon Russia in the Salisbury affair," Abdullah said."It cannot be accepted that we did this in terms of Russia after the poisoning in Salisbury, the violation of British sovereign rights," he said.The Salisbury nerve-agent attack targeted former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal earlier this year.Abdullah said he last saw Khashoggi in a conference in September in London, adding the journalist's self-imposed exile proved his fear of the Saudi authorities as he was an open critic of the Saudi government.U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said, "Unless the miracle of all miracles happens, I would acknowledge that he’s dead."UK says any response over Khashoggi case would be 'considered'Family of Saudi journalist considers him 'missing'Saudi may blame adviser for Khashoggi killing: report
UK academic calls for Saudi sanctions in Khashoggi case