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Turkey says it has recording of Khashoggi’s killing
Turkish officials claim to have an audio recording of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi being killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago.
The news of the audio evidence was leaked yesterday as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Ankara. President Donald Trump says the US has asked Turkey for the audio recording “if it exists,” before telling reporters in the Oval office: “I’m not sure yet that it exists, probably does, possibly does”. He added: “I’ll have a full report on that” when Pompeo returns. “That’s going to be the first question I ask.”
The Trump administration had appeared to accept at face value the promises of the Saudi rulers to conduct their own investigation into Khashoggi’s disappearance. After meeting King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, Pompeo told reporters in Riyadh: “They made a commitment to hold anyone connected to any wrongdoing that may be found accountable for that. Whether they are a senior officer or official, they promised accountability.” Asked if that included members of the royal family itself, he said: “They made no exceptions.”
Turkish officials yesterday repeated their claim that a team of 15 Saudi agents, some with close ties to Crown Prince bin Salman, was waiting for Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate the moment he arrived on 2 Oct. According to details from audio recordings described by a senior Turkish official, Khashoggi was dead within minutes, beheaded, dismembered, his fingers severed, and within two hours the killers were gone. A Saudi forensics specialist Salah Muhammad al-Tubaigy can allegedly be heard in the recording putting on headphones to listen to music and telling others to do the same while the body was dismembered, according to the reports.
Last week Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the Saudi ambassador that he wants “urgent answers” over Khashoggi. Hunt said that if reports of Khashoggi’s death were true, the British Government would treat the situation “seriously,” adding that “friendships depend on shared values”.