Mujeb and the delegation accompanying him left the Istanbul Çağlayan Courthouse after a 75-minute closed-door meeting
Saud al-Mujeb, Saudi’s top prosecutor heading the probe into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, asked Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor İrfan Fidan to share the whole investigation folder, including evidence, phone records, statements and footage, during their meeting on Monday, however this request was denied, Turkey’s TRT Haber reported.
Fidan did, however, allegedly share the statements of the Saudi consulate employees.
Mujeb and the delegation accompanying him left the Istanbul Çağlayan Courthouse after a 75-minute closed-door meeting with Fidan. The Saudi delegation then went to the consulate.
The fiancée of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has said Saudi authorities are responsible for his murder, and the kingdom should give more details so that those who ordered and carried out the killing can be brought to justice.The death of Khashoggi - a Washington Post columnist and a critic of Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - sparked global outrage and pitched the world's top oil exporter into crisis.When asked who was ultimately responsible for the killing, his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, told Reuters in Turkish: "This took place inside a Saudi diplomatic mission ... In such circumstances, the Saudi Arabian authorities are responsible for this.""This incident, this assassination, took place in the Saudi consulate," she said, speaking through a translator. "So the Saudi authorities probably know how such a murder took place.""They need to explain what happened," said Cengiz, who was sombre, guarded and appeared at times on the verge of tears.U.S. President Donald Trump has said Prince Mohammed, who has consolidated control over Saudi security and intelligence agencies over the past three years, bore ultimate responsibility for the operation that led to Khashoggi's killing.Turkey takes statements of 38 Saudi Consulate employeesTurkey only allowed to take water sample from well at Saudi consulateWhen asked what she would say to Prince Mohammed if she ever got the chance to speak to him, she said: "I don't think that will ever happen."Cengiz later told an audience she was disappointed with Trump's response to the killing, suggesting U.S. business ties with Riyadh had influenced his approach to the case.Khashoggi, 59, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 to obtain paperwork necessary for his upcoming marriage to Cengiz, a Turkish national. He did not walk out of the consulate. Cengiz first raised the alarm.Saudi Arabia initially denied any involvement in Khashoggi's disappearance but a Saudi official eventually attributed his death to a botched attempt to return him to the kingdom.Later, Riyadh said the killing was premeditated and Prince Mohammed has vowed that the killers would be brought to justice.Saudi Arabia has detained 18 people and dismissed five senior government officials as part of the investigation into Khashoggi's murder. Some were members of a 15-man hit team, many of them Saudi intelligence operatives, who flew into Istanbul hours before Khashoggi's death, Turkish security sources say.Saudi crown prince presides over committee to restructure intel agencySaudi Arabia says Khashoggi murder premeditatedMurder in IstanbulTurkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who Cengiz praised, has urged Riyadh to disclose who ordered the murder and prosecutors have prepared an extradition request for 18 suspects from Saudi Arabia."The explanations given so far by Saudi Arabia are not sufficient," Cengiz said. "I want to know the details of who is responsible."Asked if she held Crown Prince Mohammed or the Saudi royal family responsible, she said:"I and my government would like all those responsible, from the person who gave this order to those who carried it out, to be brought to justice and punished under international law," she said.Cengiz said she had not been contacted by Prince Mohammed or the Saudi royal family, nor offered any condolences by them.Speaking in central London, she said the West is considered a stronghold of human rights and democracy so it should stand up to the killers of her husband-to-be.Saudi Crown Prince's men in Khashoggi killing"I am disappointed by the actions of the leadership in many countries, particularly in the U.S.," she later told an audience in London."President Trump should help reveal the truth and ensure justice be served. He should not pave the way for a cover-up of my fiance's murder. Let's not let money taint our conscience and compromise our values."Trump has hedged his criticism of Saudi leaders over Khashoggi, insisting he does not want to imperil a "tremendous order" of $110 billion of weapons he says will support 500,000 U.S. jobs - figures that experts say are highly exaggerated.Cengiz met Khashoggi in May at a conference in Istanbul and their relationship blossomed. But the decision to marry in Istanbul, whose mosques reminded Khashoggi of his hometown Medina, set off a paper chase that ultimately ended in death.Turkish law required that Khashoggi, who was divorced, provide proof that he did not have a wife and thus his trip to the consulate. Cengiz said she had been shown no recordings of what happened inside the consulate and that she got most of her information from the media."Like everyone else, I am still waiting for answers," she said. "The world should know who instigated, were involved in and committed this crime."
Khashoggi fiancee says Riyadh behind his murder, criticises Trump response
The representative of the Chief Prosecutor heading Turkey’s probe into Khashoggi’s killing, Hasan Yılmaz, and Public Prosecutor İsmet Bozkurt also attended the meeting.
Fidan requested that the 18 suspects arrested in Saudi Arabia over the killing should be sent to Turkey to be tried, echoing earlier sentiment by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Turkish prosecutor also asked that the location of Khashoggi’s body be revealed.
Mujeb just reiterated Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir who said on Saturday that those behind the killing of Khashoggi would be prosecuted in the kingdom.
Turkey believes Saudi and Turkish prosecutors sharing information on the investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is useful, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoglu said on Monday, adding that the cooperation should continue.He also called on the Kingdom to reveal the whole truth on the killing of the journalist.He made the comments during a news conference with Azeri and Georgian foreign ministers. He said Saudi had proposed the visit from its public prosecutor to Turkey and called on the kingdom to conclude the investigation as soon as possible.“This is our concern. This investigation should be concluded as soon as possible,” Cavusoglu said, adding the whole world was waiting for it.Earlier Monday, Saudi Arabia’s Chief Prosecutor Saud Al-Mujeb and the delegation accompanying him held a meeting with Turkey’s Chief Public Prosecutor Irfan Fidan at the Istanbul Çağlayan Courthouse over Khashoggi’s killing.Jamal Khashoggi vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage.Soon after he went missing, Turkish officials said 15 Saudis arrived in Istanbul on the day of his disappearance in two planes and visited the consulate while he was still inside.Khashoggi was a U.S. resident who wrote columns for the Washington Post and a critic of the Saudi government, calling for reforms.After denying any involvement in the disappearance of Khashoggi, 59, for two weeks, Saudi Arabia on Oct. 20 said he had died in a fistfight.Since then, Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor said Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, contradicting the previous official statement that it happened accidentally during a tussle in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Turkish FM calls on Saudi Arabia to reveal 'whole truth' on Khashoggi killing
The suspects Turkey wants extradited include a 15-man security team that it says flew in hours before the killing and carried it out.
Mujeb told the Turkish delegation that they could join the prosecution process in Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and a critic of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed inside the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul after he went there to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage.
Slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi was about to disclose some detailed information about Saudi Arabia’s use of chemical weapons in Yemen and the U.K. had been made aware of a planned plot against him weeks before he was killed in the Saudi Consulate building in Istanbul, a British tabloid claimed on Sunday.The Sunday Express also said in its report based on unnamed security sources that “a member of the royal circle” ordered the abduction of Khashoggi.Claiming that a British intelligence source spoke to them over the weekend, the tabloid’s report penned by diplomatic editor Marco Giannangeli, said the U.K.’s intelligence services “were initially made aware that something was going in the first week of September, around three weeks before Mr Khashoggi walked into the consulate on October 2, though it took more time for other details to emerge".“These details included primary orders to capture Mr Khashoggi and bring him back to Saudi Arabia for questioning. However, the door seemed to be left open for alternative remedies to what was seen as a big problem,” the source told the tabloid based on information from the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).In talks with Saudi minister, Mattis calls for transparent investigation in Khashoggi killing“We know the orders came from a member of the royal circle but have no direct information to link them to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman,” the article further quoted the source as saying."Whether this meant he was not the original issuer we cannot say,” it added.The article also claimed that the unnamed source confirmed that MI6 -- British Secret Intelligence Service -- had warned Saudi Arabian counterparts to cancel the mission but this request was ignored.“On October 1 we became aware of the movement of a group, which included members of Ri'asat Al-Istikhbarat Al-Amah (GID) to Istanbul, and it was pretty clear what their aim was,” the intelligence source told the tabloid.“Through channels we warned that this was not a good idea. Subsequent events show that our warning was ignored.”When asked why MI6 did not alert its intelligence partner the U.S., the source said “a decision was taken that we’d done what we could".After days of denying any knowledge of his whereabouts, Saudi officials last week admitted that the journalist had been killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.Khashoggi murder has ‘tragic impact’ on Arabs: HoweidyChemical weapons in YemenThe article by The Sunday Express also claimed that Khashoggi was about to obtain “documentary evidence” proving claims that Saudi Arabia had used chemical weapons in its proxy war in Yemen, quoting an unnamed friend of Khashoggi.“I met him a week before his death,” Khashoggi’s friend, who the paper said was a Middle Eastern academic who wished to remain anonymous, was quoted to have said.“He was unhappy and he was worried,“ he said.He said: “When I asked him why he was worried, he didn't really want to reply, but eventually he told me he was getting proof that Saudi Arabia had used chemical weapons.Saudi Arabia says it is beacon of 'light' against Iran despite Khashoggi crisis“He [Khashoggi] said he hoped he be getting documentary evidence.“All I can tell you is that the next thing I heard, he was missing.”“Last month it was claimed that Saudi Arabia had been using US-supplied white phosphorous munitions against troops and even civilians in Yemen,” the article said.“Though regulations state the chemical may be used to provide smokescreens, if used illegally it can it burn to the bone,” it said.The Sunday Express also quoted a chemical warfare expert, Col. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, as saying that “nothing is as effective as chemical weapons in clearing urban areas of troops and civilians -- Assad has used phosphorous for this very reason.”“If Khashoggi did, in fact, have proof that Saudi Arabia was deliberately misusing phosphorous for this purpose, it would be highly embarrassing for the regime and provides the nearest motive yet as to why Riyadh may have acted when they did against him,” he said.Mattis said Khashoggi’s murder undermines Mideast stability
UK intelligence knew Khashoggi plot, tabloid claims
After denying any involvement in the disappearance of Khashoggi, 59, for two weeks, Saudi Arabia on Oct. 20 acknowledged his death, saying he had died in a fistfight.
Since then, Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor said Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, contradicting the previous official statement that it happened accidentally during a tussle in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Riyadh's numerous shifting accounts of the killing have undermined Prince Mohammed's standing.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday that he had met Saudi Arabia's foreign minister and called for a transparent investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Washington Post columnist Khashoggi's murder has escalated into a crisis for the world’s top oil exporter as Saudi Arabia's allies have reacted with outrage.Mattis said he met Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir during a conference in Bahrain on Saturday and discussed the killing."We discussed it. You know the same thing we talked about, the need for transparency, full and complete investigation," Mattis told a small group of reporters travelling to Prague with him."(There was) full agreement from foreign minister Jubeir, no reservations at all, he said we need to know what happened and it was very collaborative, in agreement," Mattis added.U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants to get to the bottom of the case, while also highlighting Riyadh's role as an ally against Tehran and Islamist militants, as well as a major purchaser of U.S. arms.Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor has said Khashoggi's killing was premeditated, contradicting a previous official statement that it happened accidentally during a tussle in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.On Saturday, Jubeir told a security summit in Bahrain that Riyadh's relations with the United States were "ironclad" amid what he described as "media hysteria" over the killing of Khashoggi.At the same conference, Mattis had sharp words for Saudi Arabia, saying that the killing undermined Middle Eastern stability and that Washington would take additional measures against those responsible.Earlier this month U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met the Saudi king and crown prince to discuss the issue.Washington has already announced moves against 21 Saudis to either revoke their visas or make them ineligible for U.S. visas after the Khashoggi killing.Asked whether the U.S. would limit its support to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, Mattis said on Sunday: "We'll continue to support the defense of the kingdom."Saudi Arabia is leading a Western-backed alliance of Sunni Muslim Arab states trying to restore the internationally recognised government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, ousted from the capital Sanaa by the Iran-aligned Houthis in 2015.The United States and other Western powers provide arms, refueling and intelligence to the alliance.Germany has vowed to halt all German arms exports to Saudi Arabia until the killing of Khashoggi is explained.Khashoggi murder has ‘tragic impact’ on Arabs: HoweidySaudi Arabia says it is beacon of 'light' against Iran despite Khashoggi crisisPittsburgh synagogue gunman a "coward"Mattis also said the gunman who stormed a Pittsburgh synagogue and killed 11 worshippers was a coward and the "poorest excuse for a man you could ever come up with.""If there is one person responsible, this individual, I won't even call him a man, he was (the) poorest excuse for a man you could ever come up with, who would use a weapon in a house of worship on unarmed innocent people," Mattis told a group of reporters travelling with him to Prague."This is a coward and he is not a man by any definition that we use in the Department of Defense," he said.Robert Bowers, 46, of Pittsburgh, was taken into custody after a shootout with a SWAT team on Saturday. Federal prosecutors charged him with 29 criminal counts including violence and firearms offences, and violating U.S. civil rights laws."That is tough, on the neighborhood, on the members of that synagogue, on all of us who believe in freedom of religion, it is one of our most fundamental rights that our country was founded on," Mattis said.Earlier, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said federal prosecutors could seek the death penalty.Erdoğan condemns synagogue attack in USMattis said Khashoggi’s murder undermines Mideast stabilitySuspects detained in Khashoggi case to be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia
In talks with Saudi minister, Mattis calls for transparent investigation in Khashoggi killing