Surveillance video shows Jamal Khashoggi’s ‘body double’ left Saudi consulate in Istanbul after killing
- The man then took a taxi to a mosque and went to a public bathroom to change his clothes
- Saudi Arabia’s claim on Saturday that Khashoggi died in a ‘fist-fight’ met international scepticism
A man appearing to wear Jamal Khashoggi’s clothes left the Saudi consulate in Istanbul following his killing there, according to a surveillance video, while a member of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s entourage made four calls to the royal’s office around the same time, reports said on Monday.
The reports by CNN and a pro-government Turkish newspaper came just a day before Prince Mohammed’s high-profile investment summit is to begin in Riyadh and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised that details of Khashoggi’s killing “will be revealed in all its nakedness”.
That yet again adds to the pressure Saudi Arabia faces over the slaying of The Washington Post columnist. The kingdom’s claim on Saturday that Khashoggi died in a “fist-fight” met international scepticism and allegations of a cover-up to absolve the 33-year-old crown prince of direct responsibility.
US President Donald Trump said Monday he was “not satisfied” with Riyadh’s explanation of how the journalist died inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Asked if he believed the Saudis were telling the truth about the circumstances surrounding the 59-year-old’s death three weeks ago, Trump told reporters at the White House: “We will know very soon.”