Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he will discuss an ongoing investigation into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi with members of the cabinet at a meeting on Monday.
Khashoggi went missing on Oct. 2 when he entered the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. After weeks of denying knowledge of his fate, Saudi officials said the prominent journalist was killed in a "rogue operation".
Surveillance footage of the Saudi national who wore Jamal Khashoggi's clothes to make it seem like the journalist left the Istanbul consuate has emerged. The man seen in the footage was a member of the 15 Saudis who killed Jamal Khashoggi when he entered the consulate in Istanbul."The same man was seen in Khashoggi's clothing at the city's world-famous Blue Mosque just hours after the journalist was last seen alive entering the consulate on October 2," CNN reported, citing a senior Turkish official."The man in the video, identified by the official as Mustafa al-Madani, was allegedly part of what investigators have said was a hit squad, sent to kill the journalist at the Saudi consulate during a scheduled appointment to get papers for his upcoming wedding." Khashoggi vanished after entering the consulate to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage.After two weeks denying any involvement in Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance, Saudi Arabia on Saturday said the journalist, a critic of the crown prince, died during a fight in the building. An hour later, another Saudi official attributed the death to a chokehold.Reflecting international scepticism over its account, a senior Saudi government official laid out a new version that contradicts previous explanations.The latest account includes details on how 15 Saudis sent to confront Khashoggi had threatened him with being drugged and kidnapped and killed him in a chokehold when he resisted. A member of the team dressed in Khashoggi's clothes to make it appear as if he had left the consulate.Some lie and some die: Saudi media and Khashoggi affairPrince Salman backed into tight corner as links to Khashoggi murder become clearerTurkish employees of Saudi consulate give statements in Khashoggi probeGermany urges other EU states to also stop arms exports to Saudi Arabia
Footage of Saudi operative dressed in Khashoggi's clothes after journalist's death emerges
Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, who allegedly headed the 15 Saudis who were inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul when Jamal Khashoggi was killed, called Badr Al Asaker, the director of the private office of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, four times after the “fistfight” that resulted in the journalist’s death.After denying any involvement in the disappearance of Khashoggi, 59, for two weeks, Saudi Arabia on Saturday morning said he had died in a fistfight at the consulate. An hour later, another Saudi official attributed the death to a chokehold, which a senior official reiterated.Information obtained by Yeni Şafak indicates that Mutreb used his cellphone to call Asaker at least four times after the murder took place.Germany urges other EU states to also stop arms exports to Saudi ArabiaMutreb was a diplomat in the Saudi embassy in London and has travelled frequently with the crown prince.It was found that Mutreb also contacted a U.S. number thought to be the Saudi envoy in Washington, Khaled bin Salman.Khaled is the younger brother of Salman, who was appointed as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S. in 2017. He left Washington for Riyadh once the murder of Khashoggi was exposed.Asaker quelled rumors in May that Salman was killed in an attempted coup attempt by tweeting a picture of the crown prince with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, King of Bahrain bin Isa and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.Saudi king, prince condole with Khashoggi familyHe also shared various video footage to confirm that Salman was very much alive and well.Khashoggi vanished after entering the consulate on Oct. 2 to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage.He was a U.S. resident who wrote columns for the Washington Post and a critic of the Saudi government, calling for reforms.Saudi Arabia on Sunday called the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate a "huge and grave mistake," but sought to shield its powerful crown prince from the widening crisis, saying Mohammed bin Salman had not been aware.Erdoğan to make statement on Khashoggi killing TuesdayPrince Salman is currently in a chokehold as top U.S. lawmakers also turned on him and said they believed he ordered the killing of Khashoggi.“Do I think he did it? Yes, I think he did it,” said Republican Senator Bob Corker, the influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Saudi stocks also tumbled as foreigners sold a net 4.01 billion riyals ($1.07 billion) in Saudi stocks in the week ending Oct. 18.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his turn said that he would make all the necessary statements about the killing of the Saudi journalist on Tuesday.Bin Salman wasn't aware of Khashoggi killing: Saudi FM
Prince Salman backed into tight corner as links to Khashoggi murder become clearer
AK Party willing to increase women mayors in his party
Erdoğan said the number of women mayors in his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party are "not enough" and that it should increase.
Speaking at a training program of AK Party women’s branch at the party's headquarters in Ankara, Erdoğan said the number of women mayors should reflect the proportion of women in the population.
"AK Party has eight women mayors. We do not see this as adequate. Our desire is to reflect a proportional picture according to the population," Erdoğan stressed.
Erdoğan said the full reflection of the results of June 24 general elections in Turkey will be related to the success of the upcoming 2019 local elections.
The local elections are set to be held on March 31, 2019.