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TURKEY-SAUDI-DIPLOMACY-CRIME-INVESTIGATION
Saudi prosecutor met with Turkish intelligence on Khashoggi: report
ISTANBUL, Oct 31, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s chief public prosecutor
met members of Turkey’s intelligence agency overnight as part of an
investigation into the murder of journalist and Riyadh critic Jamal
Khashoggi, local media reported Wednesday.
Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb, who travelled to Istanbul this week,
left his hotel around 2110 GMT on Tuesday escorted by a convoy and went to
the regional head offices of the Turkish Intelligence Organisation (MIT), the
private DHA news agency reported.
There was no immediate information on what was discussed.
Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Washington Post contributor, was killed after
entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain paperwork
ahead of his upcoming wedding. His body has not yet been found.
The case has brought near unprecedented international scrutiny on Saudi
Arabia and its powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, whom Khashoggi had
criticised.
After weeks of shifting official narratives, Saudi Arabia has said the
journalist was killed by a “rogue operation” and arrested 18 people allegedly
connected to his death.
Mojeb was the first Saudi official to acknowledge that the killing was
“premeditated” based on the results of Turkey’s investigation.
He met with Istanbul chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan twice this week and
visited the consulate — the scene of the murder — on Tuesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly called on Riyadh to
reveal the location of the body, as well as who ordered the hit.
Abdulkadir Selvi, a well-connected pro-government columnist in Turkey’s
Hurriyet newspaper, said the Saudi prosecutor refused to share any
information with the Turkish authorities during his visit.
“It seems the Saudi prosecutor is trying to obtain the information in the
hands of Turkey rather than share the information he has,” Selvi wrote
Wednesday.
He also claimed that Mojeb was in pursuit of Khashoggi’s phone, which the
journalist handed to his Turkish fiancee before entering the consulate.
That request sparked “uneasiness” on the Turkish side, the columnist wrote,
noting that Mojeb refused to share the testimonies of the 18 suspects. Riyadh
has rejected Ankara’s repeated requests for the men to sent to Turkey for
trial.
Selvi claimed the prosecutor must know the location of Khashoggi’s body
because, he said, the 18 suspects had confessed.
“Why did the chief prosecutor hide this information from the Turkish side?”
Selvi asked.
“Because the chief prosecutor is working to save crown prince by covering
up the investigation rather than shed light on the murder.”
BSS/AFP/MRI/1503 HRS