BICOM

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said yesterday that he believes the death of Jamal Khashoggi was the result of a “ferocious” premeditated murder.

In a speech to the Turkish Parliament, President Erdoğan said: “Saudi Arabia has taken an important step by admitting the murder. As of now, we expect of them to openly bring to light those responsible – from the highest ranked to the lowest – and to bring them to justice”. He added that the firing of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s adviser Saud al-Qahtani and deputy intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri “will not satisfy us or the international community. From the person who gave the order, to the person who carried it out, they must all be brought to account”.

Reuters reports that al-Qahtani participated in a Skype call to the room in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul before Khashoggi was killed, telling the Saudis to “bring me the head of the dog”. US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, held that the US would revoke the visas of Saudi officials implicated in Khashoggi’s death, and was exploring using sanctions against them.

Asked in the Oval Office about the death of Khashoggi, US President Donald Trump said: “They had a very bad original concept. It was carried out poorly, and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups. There should have never been an execution or a cover-up, because it should have never happened,” the president added.

On Monday Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the official Saudi claim on 20 October that Khashoggi was killed in a “fist-fight” in a botched attempt to interrogate him “does not amount to a credible explanation. There remains an urgent need to establish exactly what happened and anyone found responsible for any offence must be held fully accountable” he said.

Yesterday the Saudi Foreign Ministry released photos of Khashoggi’s son, Salah bin Jamal Khashoggi, meeting the Crown Prince and King Salman in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia’s investment conference opened on Tuesday with a dearth of big name speakers and a fleeting appearance by its sponsor, Crown Prince bin Salman. Dozens of top business leaders from around the world have pulled out of the Future Investment Initiative, including US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the CEOs of HSBC (HSBC) and Blackrock (BLK), and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde.