Turkey concludes Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed by ‘murder’ team inside consulate, sources say
Explosive allegation threatens already-fraught relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well as raising questions about the kingdom and its assertive crown prince
Turkey has concluded that Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent journalist from Saudi Arabia, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this week by a team sent “specifically for the murder”, two people with knowledge of the probe said.
Turkish investigators believe a 15-member team “came from Saudi Arabia. It was a pre-planned murder,” said one of the people. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
They offered no specific evidence to back up the account.
Turkey’s president said he was personally involved in the case and is holding out hope for him.
“As president, I am pursuing,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday in televised comments in Ankara. “We’re waiting for the prosecutor’s statement. My expectation is still well-meant. I hope we won’t encounter an undesirable situation.”
On Saturday, Turkey’s Anadolu news agency said Istanbul public prosecutor’s office had opened a probe into Khashoggi’s disappearance.