Jamal Khashoggi’s body was ‘dissolved’ after murder as ‘biological evidence’ in Saudi consulate’s garden is cited

The body of journalist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi was “dissolved” after he was murdered and dismembered in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul a month ago, according to a Turkish official.

The claim echoed details another Turkish official had earlier given to The Washington Post – for which Khashoggi was a contributor – that authorities were investigating a theory the body was destroyed with acid.

The murder of the royal insider-turned-dissident has provoked widespread outrage against Riyadh and fuelled an international debate about arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia, a key Washington ally against Iran.

“We now see that it wasn’t just cut up, they got rid of the body by dissolving it,” Yasin Aktay, an official in Turkey’s ruling party, told the Hurriyet newspaper in a story published on Friday.

“According to the latest information we have, the reason they cut up the body is it was easier to dissolve it,” said Aktay, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who was close to Khashoggi.

“They aimed to ensure no sign of the body was left.”