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TURKEY-SAUDI-DIPLOMACY
Turkish police search Saudi consulate again in Khashoggi case
ISTANBUL, Oct 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A team of Turkish investigators
searched the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for a second time as part of a probe
into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an AFP
correspondent.
Turkish police on Wednesday also carried out a search of the residence of
the Saudi consul to Istanbul, Mohammed al-Otaibi, a day after he flew out of
Istanbul for Riyadh.
Khashoggi, a former regime insider who became critical of Saudi Arabia’s
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, wrote articles for titles including the
Washington Post. He has not been seen since he stepped inside the Saudi
consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
Turkish officials have said they believe he was killed there although this
has not been confirmed by Saudi Arabia.
At around 4:40 pm (1340 GMT) a team of a dozen police and prosecutors,
including forensics experts in white overalls entered the residence of the
consul, who was at the consulate when the alleged assassination of Khashoggi
took place, according to Turkish media.
The investigators examined the garden, and some could be seen on the roof
of the building. A drone was also used over the building, according to an AFP
journalist at the scene.
The investigators left the residence around 1:30 am, but some of them
headed to the nearby consulate to conduct a search, which was continuing into
the early hours of Thursday.
Turkish police on Monday night carried out an eight-hour search at the
consulate, taking away soil and DNA samples.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0750 hrs