Khashoggi murder trial: Saudi consulate worker tells Turkish court oven was lit after killing
- Zeki Demir, a technician who worked for the consulate, was giving evidence on the first day of the murder trial in absentia of 20 Saudi officials
- Some Western governments, as well as the CIA, say they believe Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the hit on journalist Jamal Khashoggi
A Saudi consulate worker in Istanbul told a Turkish court on Friday he had been asked to light a tandoor oven less than an hour after Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the building where he was killed.
Zeki Demir, a local technician who worked for the consulate, was giving evidence on the first day of the trial in absentia of 20 Saudi officials over Khashoggi’s killing, which sparked global outrage and tarnished the image of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler.
Demir said he had been called to the consul’s residence after Khashoggi entered the nearby consulate to seek his papers.
“There were five to six people there … They asked me to light up the tandoor (oven). There was an air of panic,” he said.
Khashoggi disappeared after going to the consulate to get papers for his marriage in October 2018. Some Western governments, as well as the CIA, said they believed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the hit – an accusation Saudi officials denied.