By Agencies
TURKEY’S President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has labelled the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi a “savage murder” committed by a Saudi team of assassins who had carefully planned the killing.
Mr Erdogan told the Turkish parliament made it clear it was a premeditated and meticulously planned political assassination, where Saudi officials began plotting against Khashoggi in late September, days ahead of his disappearance after he entered the consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
Having promised to reveal the “naked truth” of a Saudi plot to kill the Washington Post columnist, Mr Erdogan said that a team including Saudi generals had flown in to carry out the mission.
Saudi citizen Khashoggi has been a fierce critic of the leadership of Saudi Arabia, and in particular Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He said the evidence collected so far shows Mr Khashoggi was murdered in “a ferocious manner”.
“To try and hide it would be an insult to humanity,” Mr Erdogan said in his address that was televised around the world.
“Let’s not forget that this building is within the borders of the Republic of Turkey,” the President said.
He urged Saudi Arabia to reveal who ordered the “savage murder” at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul and said the 18 Saudis suspected of carrying it out should be tried in Turkish courts.
Erdogan’s comments contradicted Saudi accounts that Khashoggi died accidentally in a “fistfight” in the consulate – and for the first time the president also confirmed that a body double of Khashoggi was used as a decoy after he was killed.
However, he made no reference to any audio or video recordings, something that would be seriously damaging to the Saudi government.
He did not mention Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who some US politicians have speculated ordered the murder – but did speak of Saudi King Salman’s “sincerity” in the inquiry so far.
Mr Erdogan vowed Turkey would continue in its pursuit of the truth.
“From the person who gave the order, to the person who carried it out, they must all be brought to account.”
He demanded Saudi Arabia reveal who helped the killers – someone he called a “local cooperator” – who supposedly took Khashoggi’s remains away.
The president said three people secretly entered Turkey three days before the killing and scouted a forest near Istanbul – suggesting the trio may have been looking for a place to dump the body, according to a Guardian analysis.
His address came after more than two weeks of carefully orchestrated leaks to the media by Turkey that implicated the highest levels of the government of Saudi Arabia in the death of Khashoggi.
The last few hours of Khashoggi’s life have been revealed in images published by Turkish media outlets.
The Saudi journalist can be seen holding hands with Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz, as they visit the local marriage office and enter their apartment block in the hours leading up to his fatal visit to the consulate.
In the wake of his death, Ms Cengiz said she has been the subject of abuse from online Saudi trolls who have questioned the authenticity of their relationship.
“A severe smear campaign has been initiated in Saudi Arabia against myself,” she told Turkish daily newspaper Sabah on October 11, more than a week after her fiance disappeared. “This is being carried out by both Saudi-supported news agencies and (internet) trolls.
“This is, of course, quite saddening. Such reflexes alone show that there is much suspicion about the issue.”
The new photos and footage clearly show the couple holding hands as they leave the marriage office together.
The photos back up Ms Cengiz’s account that the couple had bought an apartment and intended to marry as soon as they received the appropriate paperwork from the Saudi consulate.
In a heartfelt New York Times piece which ran earlier this month, the doctoral student said the couple had been “cheerful” the morning they travelled to the consulate.
“We were going to browse appliances for our new home and meet with our friends and family members over dinner,” she wrote. “When we arrived at the consulate, he went right in. He told me to alert the Turkish authorities if I did not hear from him soon.”
She said the pair bonded over their “shared passion for democracy, human rights and freedom of expression” when they met at a conference in Istanbul.
“I had planned a party, inviting his closest friends to surround him with the love and warmth that he had missed,” she wrote. “We would have been married now.
