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SAUDI-CRIME-US-DIPLOMACY-KHASHOGGI
‘I can’t breathe’ were Khashoggi’s final words, report says
WASHINGTON, Dec 10, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Jamal Khashoggi’s final words were “I
can’t breathe,” CNN said Sunday, citing a source who has read the transcript
of an audio tape of the final moments before the journalist’s murder.
The source told the US network the transcript made clear the killing was
premeditated, and suggests several phone calls were made to give briefings on
the progress.
CNN said Turkish officials believe those calls were made to top officials
in Riyadh.
Khashoggi, a Saudi contributor to The Washington Post, was killed shortly
after entering the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
The transcript of the gruesome recording includes descriptions of
Khashoggi struggling against his murderers, CNN said, and references sounds
of the dissident journalist’s body “being dismembered by a saw.”
The original transcript was prepared by Turkish intelligence services, and
CNN said its source read a translation version and was briefed on the probe
into the journalist’s death.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister on Sunday meanwhile rejected demands to
extradite suspects connected to the murder of Khashoggi as sought by Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan has repeatedly called on Saudi Arabia to hand over suspects in the
killing. According to Turkey, a 15-member Saudi team was sent to Istanbul to
kill Khashoggi.
Saudi Arabia, however, holds that it was a “rogue” operation gone wrong —
a claim undercut by the reported transcript.
For his part US President Donald Trump has refrained from blaming Saudi
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, even though the CIA reportedly concluded
that he ordered the assassination.
The murder has damaged Riyadh’s international reputation and Western
countries including the United States, France and Canada have placed
sanctions on nearly 20 Saudi nationals.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0831 hrs