For the first time publicly, a Turkish prosecutor has said that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was strangled as soon as he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month, adding he was later dismembered.
A statement from chief Istanbul prosecutor Irfan Fidan’s office also said discussions with Saudi chief prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb have yielded no “concrete results” despite “good-willed efforts” by Turkey to uncover the truth, according to The Associated Press.
The statement is the first public confirmation by an official that Khashoggi was strangled and dismembered.
Khashoggi, a Virginia resident and Washington Post columnist critical of the Saudi government, was killed Oct. 2 when he went the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to get paperwork for his marriage to his Turkish fiancée.
Unnamed Turkish officials have previously told news outlets that Khashoggi was tortured, killed and dismembered by a 15-person Saudi hit squad that included a forensic doctor wielding a bone saw.
After first claiming that Khashoggi left the consulate alive, the Saudis acknowledged on Oct. 19 that he died inside the consulate. Still, they argued that Khashoggi was unintentionally killed during a physical altercation that resulted from an unapproved operation to return him to Saudi Arabia.
Last week, though, Saudi Arabia’s top prosecutor changed the kingdom’s story again, saying the killing was premeditated.
Khashoggi’s death has led to an international outcry and calls for steep punishments against the Saudis.
CIA Director Gina Haspel traveled to Turkey last week to review its evidence and has briefed President Trump.
The White House said Monday that Trump is weighing his response.
Yesterday, Defense Secretary James Mattis said that Turkey “has so far provided evidence for every allegation that they have made about what happened.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged the Saudi regime to reveal the location of Khashoggi’s body and who ordered the hit.
He has also repeatedly called for the suspects to be extradited for trial in Turkey, but Riyadh has rejected the request.
France said Wednesday that ‘not enough’ was being done to find those responsible for the murder of Khashoggi, who was an insider in Saudi royal circles before going into self-imposed exile in the United States last year.
Trump’s decision not to be forceful with Saudi Arabia could be for personal business reasons. By his own admission, he’s done millions and millions of dollars worth of business there.
Son-in-law Jared Kushner also has a massive amount of business dealings in Saudi Arabia. In fact, the United States has no ambassador accredited in Riyadh. Instead, the relationship is in the hands of Kushner, which in itself could be a massive financial conflict.
Trump registered eight companies during his presidential campaign that were tied to hotel interests in Saudi Arabia.
Congress has been critical of Trump for being slow to react.