ANKARA – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said that the”savage murder” of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate inIstanbul was meticulously planned, demanding that all those linked to thekilling face punishment.
Erdogan had promised that his speech in Ankara would give the “naked truth”about the killing and he gave a host of new details. But he stillacknowledged Turkey wanted answers to key questions, including who gave theorders.
His revelations of careful planning contradicted Saudi insistences of anoperation gone wrong. Vice President Mike Pence vowed that the UnitedStates would “demand answers” from Riyadh.
The murder of the Washington Post contributor has severely dented theinternational reputation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who hasspearheaded a reform drive in the kingdom. The killing overshadowed a majorinvestment forum in Riyadh that also opened on Tuesday.
Erdogan outlined the steps taken by what he said was a 15 person team whocame from Riyadh planning to kill Khashoggi, including carrying outreconnaissance outside Istanbul and then deactivating security cameras atthe consulate.
He said that 18 suspects already detained by Saudi Arabia should beextradited to Istanbul to face trial over the killing and called for aninvestigation into those who have “even the slightest link” to the “savagemurder”.——————————
* Who gave orders? *——————————
But Erdogan did not confirm or even mention some of the most strikingclaims that appeared in the Turkish press over the last days, notably thatKhashoggi s body was cut up into multiple pieces or that there is an audiorecording of the murder.
The president himself admitted that several questions remain unanswered.
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“These (15) people, from whom did they get orders? … We are seekinganswers,” he asked.
Taking aim at the inconsistent position of Riyadh in the days after themurder Erdogan added: “Why when the murder was clear, why were so manyinconsistent statements made?”
Erdogan did not mention Prince Mohammed by name in the speech. But he saidhe was confident of the full cooperation of his father Saudi King Salman inthe probe and vowed full retribution for all those guilty of the “savagemurder”.
“The conscience of humanity will only be satisfied when those who ordered(the murder) and those who carried it out answer for their actions.”
Erdogan confirmed that a Saudi official played the role of body double forKhashoggi, wearing his clothes in a bid to show that the journalist hadleft the consulate.
The whereabouts of Khashoggi s corpse is still unknown. Turkish police weresearching an abandoned car belonging to the Saudi consulate in anunderground car park in the Sultangazi district of Istanbul. – APP/AFP
