Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Germany on Monday imposed a travel ban on 18 Saudi citizens over their suspected involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“These individuals are the members of a 15-man team and three others suspected of taking part in this plan,” Christofer Burger, deputy spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, told a news conference in Berlin.
He said the decision was taken in close coordination with two other EU partners -- the U.K. and France.
Asked whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was among the first group of people receiving sanctions, Burger declined to make any comments on the matter.
The Washington Post reported last week that the CIA had concluded the Khashoggi’s murder was ordered by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist working for The Washington Post, was killed shortly after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul Oct. 2.
Saudi Arabia had offered shifting explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance before suggesting he was killed during a botched rendition operation by rogue agents.
So far, 21 people, including security officers, have been arrested in Saudi Arabia in connection with the murder.
An Egyptian woman has come forward claiming to be the wife of slain Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi whom he had married in a secret Islamic ceremony. The religious ceremony reportedly took place in the United States in June this year, months before Khashoggi was killed at the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Turkey while seeking papers needed to marry his Turkish fiancée Hatice Cengiz. Speaking to the Washington Post, the woman, 50, requested to be identified by her first initial and last name, H. Atr, citing concern for her security and her job. Khashoggi, a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, was killed Oct. 2 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.Members of Khashoggi’s family declined to comment on the marriage. His Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, told WP during a telephone interview that she was not aware of Khashoggi’s relationship with Atr and questioned her motives.Khashoggi’s body may have been smuggled out in suitcases: Turkey’s DefMin“Jamal never told me about this woman,” Cengiz said. “Why is she trying to change the picture people have of Jamal? What does she want? . . . I suspect that this is an attempt to discredit him and hurt his reputation.”In an interview, Atr said she was coming forward to reveal her relationship with Khashoggi because “as a Muslim wife, I want my full right and to be recognized.” The woman said she handed over photos and other evidence to a Saudi consulate in the Middle East and that she last saw Khashoggi in September. A number of accounts pertaining to supporters of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman shared photos of Atr with Khashoggi in a bid to smear him.If she can prove that she was the slain journalist’s legitimate wife, she would be able to lay a claim to part of any compensation that Riyadh would offer Khashoggi’s family.After weeks of denying any involvement in the crime, Saudi Arabia later admitted that Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate but claimed the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge of any plot to murder the journalist.Dahlan ‘cover-up team’ from Lebanon helps hide traces of Khashoggi murderAccording to reports, Turkish investigators found traces of "hydrofluoric acid and other chemicals" inside a well at the Saudi consul general's home in Istanbul, suggesting Khashoggi’s body was dissolved in acid and other chemicals.On Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor’s office announced it had charged 11 out of 21 suspects in relation to the murder, seeking the death penalty for five of the suspects.The CIA believes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of Khashoggi, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, complicating President Donald Trump's efforts to preserve ties with a key U.S. ally.The sources said the CIA had briefed other parts of the U.S. government, including Congress, on its assessment, which contradicts Saudi government assertions that Prince Mohammed was not involved.Khashoggi’s body injected with clotting agent to ‘leave no blood trace’
Egyptian woman comes forward as Khashoggi’s secret wife
A second team that arrived in Istanbul to help cover-up the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was dispatched by Muhammed Dahlan, UAE Crown Prince Muhammed bin Zayed’s chief hitman in the region, according to newly obtained information about the aftermath of the chilling murder.Khashoggi, a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, was killed on Oct. 2 inside the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul.A “cover-up” was put together Dahlan, who is of Palestinian origin, played an active role in assembling a “cover-up team” of four tasked with erasing all traces of the gruesome murder, according to an informed source who spoke to Yeni Şafak daily on the condition of anonymity.The same team dispatched by Dahlan to Istanbul is said to have been behind the assassination of senior Hamas member Mahmood al-Mabhih in 2010, according to Yeni Şafak security sources.Mohammed Dahlan, the former security chief for the Palestinian Authority who is also known as the “hitman” of the Middle East, was the main mediator between the UAE government and an assassination squad in Yemen.Khashoggi’s body may have been smuggled out in suitcases: Turkey’s DefMinThe team, which arrived in Istanbul where they three spent nights, from Lebanon a day before the murder on Oct. 1, had entered the Saudi consulate building on the day of the Khashoggi murder, according to surveillance footage obtained by Turkish officials.According to reports, Turkish investigators found traces of "hydrofluoric acid and other chemicals" inside a well at the Saudi consul general's home in Istanbul, suggesting Khashoggi’s body was dissolved in acid and other chemicals.After weeks of denying any involvement in the crime, Saudi Arabia later admitted that 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 injected with clotting agent to ‘leave no blood trace’CIA believes Saudi crown prince ordered journalist's killingOn Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor’s office announced it had charged 11 out of 21 suspects in relation to the murder, seeking the death penalty for five of the suspects.The CIA believes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of Khashoggi, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, complicating President Donald Trump's efforts to preserve ties with a key U.S. ally.The sources said the CIA had briefed other parts of the U.S. government, including Congress, on its assessment, which contradicts Saudi government assertions that Prince Mohammed was not involved.
Dahlan ‘cover-up team’ from Lebanon helps hide traces of Khashoggi murder
The body of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi may have been smuggled out in suitcases, said Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Sunday.Khashoggi, a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, was killed Oct. 2 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.Speaking during the International Security Forum in Canada, Hulusi outlined the possible scenarios for culprits to smuggle the body after the gruesome murder in Istanbul.“You can talk about possibilities regarding this subject. One is that they left Turkey three to four hours after the murder. They may have smuggled Khashoggi’s dismembered body out in suitcases without any problems due to their diplomatic immunity,” said Akar in Halifax.Khashoggi’s body injected with clotting agent to ‘leave no blood trace’CIA believes Saudi crown prince ordered journalist's killingAccording to reports, Turkish investigators found traces of "hydrofluoric acid and other chemicals" inside a well at the Saudi consul general's home in Istanbul, suggesting Khashoggi’s body was dissolved in acid and other chemicals.After weeks of denying any involvement in the crime, Saudi Arabia later admitted that Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate but claimed the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge of any plot to murder the journalist.On Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor’s office announced it had charged 11 out of 21 suspects in relation to the murder, seeking the death penalty for five of the suspects.The CIA believes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, complicating President Donald Trump's efforts to preserve ties with a key U.S. ally.The sources said the CIA had briefed other parts of the U.S. government, including Congress, on its assessment, which contradicts Saudi government assertions that Prince Mohammed was not involved.
Turkey says Khashoggi killers may have taken body parts out of country