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An adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday that comments from Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor were aimed at covering up the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, adding the Saudi probe was unlikely to find the perpetrators.
Yasin Aktay, who advises Erdoğan in his AK Party, made the comments after Saudi's public prosecutor said the journalist was killed after "negotiations" to convince him to return to the kingdom failed. Turkish officials have said they believe the killing was premeditated.
"They expect us to believe the killers carried this out on their own. This isn't very credible. Everything is clear as day, but there is an effort to cover it up a bit," Aktay said.
Erdoğan has said the killing was ordered at the "highest levels" of the Saudi government.
Turkey is not satisfied with remarks from Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Ankara's foreign minister said on Thursday, adding the journalist was targeted in a premeditated killing.Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and a Washington Post columnist, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, sparking global outrage against the kingdom and its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Riyadh had offered numerous contradictory explanations for his disappearance, before saying Khashoggi was killed after "negotiations" to convince him to return to the kingdom failed. On Thursday, the public prosecutor's office said he was killed after a struggle by a lethal injection and his body dismembered and taken out of the building."I don't find some comments satisfying. They say this person was killed because he resisted, whereas this murder was premeditated," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said."Where is the body of the murdered Khashoggi? Where was it thrown, where was it burned?" he added.Khashoggi’s body dismembered inside Istanbul consulate: Saudi prosecutor"Again, they say he was dismembered... but this isn't a spontaneous thing. The necessary equipment and people were previously brought in to kill and later dismember him."President Tayyip Erdoğan has said the killing was ordered at the "highest levels" of the Saudi government.Çavuşoğlu also reiterated Turkey's call for Riyadh to disclose the location of Khashoggi's remains."Where is the body of the murdered Khashoggi? Where was it thrown, where was it burned?" Çavuşoğlu said. He did not say whether Turkey had evidence that pointed to the body having been burned. Turkey has previously called for an investigation into reports the body was dissolved in acid.Çavuşoğlu also repeated Erdoğan's call that the suspects in the case should be tried in Turkey, not Saudi Arabia.Israel’s Gaza war part of bin Salman plot to distract world from Khashoggi killingPrince Salman’s right hand men the royal family fears
Turkey not satisfied by Saudi prosecutor comments on Khashoggi: FM
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also slammed the comments from Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor.
"I don't find some comments satisfying. They say this person was killed because he resisted, whereas this murder was premeditated," Çavuşoğlu said.
"Where is the body of the murdered Khashoggi? Where was it thrown, where was it burned?" he added.
"Again, they say he was dismembered... but this isn't a spontaneous thing. The necessary equipment and people were previously brought in to kill and later dismember him."
Çavuşoğlu also reiterated Turkey's call for Riyadh to disclose the location of Khashoggi's remains.
"Where is the body of the murdered Khashoggi? Where was it thrown, where was it burned?" Çavuşoğlu said. He did not say whether Turkey had evidence that pointed to the body having been burned. Turkey has previously called for an investigation into reports the body was dissolved in acid.
The body of slain Saudi Journalist was dismembered inside his country’s Istanbul Consulate General, according to Riyadh’s top prosecutor.In a statement made on Thursday, the prosecutor said he’s seeking the death penalty for five suspects in the Khashoggi murder case.The prosecutor told reporters in Riyadh that investigations were still ongoing to locate the remains of the body.The prosecutor’s office also said it was awaiting Turkey's response to its request for evidence and sound recordings of the crime.The prosecutor also said it was awaiting Turkey's response to its request for evidence and sound recordings of the crime.World wondering who ordered Khashoggi killing, says AK Party spoxWhereabouts of Khashoggi still unknownSaudi Arabia's public prosecutor said on Thursday the person who had ordered the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi was the head of the negotiating team sent to repatriate him and that the whereabouts of Khashoggi's body remained unknown.The prosecutor told reporters in Riyadh that investigations were still ongoing to locate the remains of the body.Ex-adviser Qahtani under investigationHe added that a former adviser to the royal court, Saud al-Qahtani, had been due to meet the team that was ordered to repatriate Khashoggi, who was killed after efforts to negotiate his return failed.Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said Qahtani had been banned from travelling and remained under investigation, adding that the case has been transferred to court while investigations continue.Israel’s Gaza war part of bin Salman plot to distract world from Khashoggi killingSaudi Arabia charges 11 in relation to Khashoggi murderSaudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor’s office on Thursday announced it had charged 11 out of 21 suspects in relation to the murder early last month of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.At a press conference held in capital Riyadh, the chief prosecutor announced his intention to call for the death penalty against anyone found guilty of ordering and carrying out the journalist’s murder.The prosecutor’s office also said it was awaiting Turkey's response to its request for evidence and sound recordings of the crime.Prince Salman’s right hand men the royal family fearsKhashoggi, a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, was killed on Oct. 2 inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.After weeks of denying involvement, the kingdom admitted Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate but claimed the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge of any plot to murder the journalist.
Khashoggi’s body dismembered inside Istanbul consulate: Saudi prosecutor
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is said to have persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go to war in Gaza in a bid to divert attention from the Khashoggi case. According to a report published by the English-language Middle East Eye news website, the Saudi monarch tried to convince Netanyahu of going to war with Hamas in Gaza, which would help alleviate pressure mounting on the kingdom following the fallout from the Khashoggi murder. Khashoggi, a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, was killed on Oct. 2 inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.Turkey not satisfied by Saudi prosecutor comments on Khashoggi: FMAfter weeks of denying involvement, the kingdom admitted Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate but claimed the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge of any plot to murder the journalist.So far, 18 people -- including security officers -- have been arrested in Saudi Arabia in connection with the murder.The report, citing sources inside the Saudi kingdom, claims an escalation of the conflict in Gaza was among several scenarios proposed by an emergency task force established to counter mounting pressure on the oil-rich kingdom as more chilling details about the Khashoggi murder became known.Khashoggi’s body dismembered inside Istanbul consulate: Saudi prosecutorThe task force is said to be composed of officials from the royal court, foreign and defense ministries, and the intelligence service who brief the crown prince every six hours. The force advised bin Salman that a war in Gaza would divert U.S. President Donald Trump’s attention away from the Khashoggi killing, and would serve to remind him that the Kingdom is an asset to Washington when it comes to “bolstering Israel’s strategic interests.”According to the MEE report penned by MEE editor David Hearst, Netanyahu was “very eager” to help bin Salman, according to anonymous Israeli sources, as Riyadh and Tel Aviv’s secret rapprochement continues after the kingdom became a key player in Trump’s “Deal of the Century” plan.Prince Salman’s right hand men the royal family fearsOver the course of the last three days, at least 14 Palestinians in have been martyred in Gaza -- by Israeli airstrikes and artillery -- across the blockaded Palestinian territory.On Sunday night, an Israeli officer was killed -- and another injured -- in a botched ground operation in Gaza.Tensions appeared to ease slightly late Tuesday after Israel and Gaza-based resistance factions agreed to an Egypt-brokered cease-fire.World wondering who ordered Khashoggi killing, says AK Party spoxErdoğan says Khashoggi recordings 'appalling', shocked Saudi intelligenceTell your boss: Saudi kill team recordings connect Prince Salman to Khashoggi murder
Israel’s Gaza war part of bin Salman plot to distract world from Khashoggi killing
Two men with little to no qualifications, Saud el-Qahtani (40), and Turki al-Sheikh (37), are the loyal puppets of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), according to an article published by the New York Times.Qahtani, who is the aide of the crown prince, and Sheikh, the Kingdom’s sports commissioner, are the “closest people to the crown prince,” and played significant roles in carrying out their master’s bidding in his shocking power plays.“The ouster of the previous crown prince, the detentions of royals and businessmen in the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton, the kidnapping of the Lebanese prime minister, and the kingdom’s diplomatic spats with Qatar and Canada,” were all headed by these two men, the article titled “Behind a Saudi Prince’s Rise, Two Loyal Enforcers,” states.“Even Saudi royals have come to fear the prince’s two friends.” White House covering for bin Salman: Ex-CIA officerThe Khashoggi murderNow, the heads of these two men may be on the chopping block to save the prince’s name, which has been dragged through the mud during the past month over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered at the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Turkey’s Istanbul on Oct. 2.Khashoggi had previously told Newsweek that MBS “does not have political advisers except Turki al-Sheikh and Saud al-Qahtani.”“They are very thuggish. People fear them. You challenge them, you might end up in prison,” said Khashoggi, who was a critic of Prince Salman.Both these “loyal enforcers” were educated inside the Kingdom with meager experience abroad.World wondering who ordered Khashoggi killing, says AK Party spoxQahtani has already been sacked due to the rhetoric toward the kingdom’s critics that led to Khashoggi’s death, said a Saudi official, while Sheikh is laying low. Saudi Arabia, after weeks of denying the journalist’s murder, said that he had died in a botched up interrogation. It later changed its story after evidence came to light showing that the murder was premeditated. It also said it had arrested 18 people—15 of whom are Saudi agents who were at the consulate on the same day as Khashoggi--, who are involved in the killing.Neither is among the 18 people Saudi Arabia said it arrested regarding the probe investigating Khashoggi’s murder.US lawmakers expect votes on steps to crack down on Saudi ArabiaTurkey has shared recordings related to the killing of Khashoggi, which Turkey has shared with its Western allies.Last month two separate intelligence sources said that Qahtani gave orders over Skype to Khashoggi's killers at the consulate. More recently, a government source familiar with the matter said Qahtani featured prominently throughout the recordings.Khashoggi's murder has provoked global outrage but little concrete action by major powers against Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter and a strong proponent of U.S. policy to contain Iranian influence across the Middle East.Trump to nominate retired Army general as US ambassador to Saudi ArabiaErdoğan says Khashoggi recordings 'appalling', shocked Saudi intelligenceTell your boss: Saudi kill team recordings connect Prince Salman to Khashoggi murder
Prince Salman’s right hand men the royal family fears