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Turkey turns up heat on Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi
ISTANBUL, Oct 22, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Turkey’s pro-government media published
new claims on Monday linking Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the
death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
vowed to reveal the “naked truth” about the case.
Erdogan said at the weekend he would give new details in a speech on
Tuesday about the disappearance of Khashoggi, who was murdered almost three
weeks ago after stepping inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
After over two weeks of near silence, Saudi Arabia has now admitted
Khashoggi was killed in the consulate but the kingdom’s explanations are seen
even by its allies as contradictory and unsatisfying.
The case has shone the spotlight on Crown Prince Mohammed, who has
spearheaded a glitzy new reform drive for the kingdom but now faces a stream
of allegations — denied by Riyadh — that he ordered the killing of the
Washington Post contributor.
US President Donald Trump, who has resisted pressure to curb arms sales to
Saudi Arabia, initially said Riyadh’s version of events was credible but then
accused the kingdom of lying.
– ‘Crown prince enemy of Turkey’ –
Turkish pro-government daily Yeni Safak said Saudi security official Maher
Abdulaziz Mutreb, the alleged the leader of the operation, called the head of
Prince Mohammed’s office, Bader al-Asaker, “four times after the murder”.
“The circle is tightening around the crown prince,” said one of its
headlines.
Abdulkadir Selvi, whose columns in the Hurriyet daily are closely watched
for indications of Erdogan’s thinking, gave what he said were new details and
said Prince Mohammed had to take responsibility.
Selvi said Khashoggi was strangled by a Saudi assassination squad, in a
process that took up to eight minutes. Then Salah Muhammed Al-Tubaigy, a
lieutenant-colonel in the Saudi forensic department, cut the body into 15
pieces while listening to music.
“We cannot close this file until the crown prince is brought to account
and removed from his post. For 50 years we cannot live with a crown prince
who is an enemy of Turkey,” said Selvi.
MORE/FI/ 1710 hrs
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In the past weeks, Turkish media and officials speaking to international
media have claimed that audio recordings prove Khashoggi was tortured before
being decapitated although no concrete evidence of their existence have
emerged.
Several senior members of Trump’s Republican Party said they believed
Prince Mohammed — who has close relations with the president’s son-in-law
and advisor Jared Kushner — was linked to the killing.
Senator Bob Corker called for a “collective” Western response if a link is
proved.
– ‘Naked truth’ –
Erdogan has still stopped short of directly pointing the finger at Riyadh,
with analysts saying he preferred to authorise the leak of incriminating
information to pro-government media to pressure the kingdom.
He has twice held telephone talks with King Salman on the crisis, with
some analysts arguing Erdogan was seeking to preserve Turkish-Saudi relations
through the ageing monarch while sidelining his headstrong son Prince
Mohammed.
Riyadh on Saturday finally admitted that Khashoggi had died in the
consulate — blaming a brawl — and announced the firing of five top
officials and the arrest of 18 others in a probe.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, the smooth former envoy to
Washington and fluent English speaker, on Sunday appeared on Fox News to
blame a “rogue operation” by individuals who “exceeded their
responsibilities” and then “tried to cover up for it”.
“We are determined to find out all the facts. And we are determined to
punish those who are responsible for this murder,” he said, denying any link
to the crown prince.
Saudi’s official news agency said both King Salman and Prince Mohammed had
phoned Khashoggi’s son Salah to express their condolences.
– ‘Davos in desert’ hit –
Khashoggi went to the consulate on October 2 to get documents ahead of his
upcoming wedding to his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who has now been
given 24-hour protection according to Turkish state media
Five employees from the Saudi consulate were testifying to prosecutors on
Monday, Anadolu said, with 22 foreign and Turkish workers expected to give
statements in total.
The timing of the controversy could not be worse for the crown prince as
he prepares to host a key investment summit on Tuesday, overshadowed by big
name cancellations.
Dozens of executives from bankers Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to ride-
hailing app Uber to Western leaders like International Monetary Fund chief
Christine Lagarde have pulled out of the three-day Future Investment
Initiative (FII), dubbed “Davos in the desert”.
Meanwhile German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Berlin would not export
arms to Riyadh “in the current situation”, despite Germany’s approval last
month of 416 million euros ($480 million) worth of arms exports to Saudi
Arabia for 2018.
In a rare joint statement, Britain, France and Germany said there was an
“urgent need for clarification” on what happened to Khashoggi and Riyadh’s
account had to “be backed by facts to be considered credible”.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1712 hrs