Erdogan Slams Saudi Prosecutor General for Obstructing Investigation Into Khashoggi Case
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday accused Saudi Prosecutor General Saud al-Mojeb of obstructing the ongoing investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Istanbul prosecutors said on October 31 that Khashoggi had been strangled in a premeditated murder after entering Saudi Arabia's consulate, and his body was subsequently dismembered and destroyed. The statement came after al-Mojeb's two-day visit to Turkey, which, according to Istanbul's chief prosecutor's office, brought no concrete results.
"The Saudi prosecutor general visited [Turkey] to obstruct the investigation ... There can be no other explanation: why did these 15 people come [from Saudi Arabia to Turkey on the day of Khashoggi's killing]?" Erdogan told reporters in Ankara, adding that Turkey had no information on the location of Khashoggi's body.
Khashoggi vanished on October 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia's acknowledgment that the journalist had been killed in a fight inside the consulate came after two weeks of denials and growing pressure from Western allies to provide explanations. Turkey has been conducting a separate probe into the case.
On October 26, the Saudi prosecutor general acknowledged that the journalist's murder had been premeditated. However, Riyadh maintains that the killing had nothing to do with the Saudi Royal family, describing it as a rogue operation.