TRANSCRIPTS OF THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPERS OF LONDON,UNITED
KINGDOM"S REPORTS ON THE KILLING Erdoğan says Saudi team planned Khashoggi
murder - as it happened
Jamal
Khashoggi: Erdoğan rejects Saudi account of killing
Here are the main points made in today’s
speech by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan:
- The “savage murder” of the
dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a premeditated, and meticulously
planned, political operation, with Saudi officials scoping out forest
areas outside Istanbul the day before Khashoggi died
- While Saudi Arabia has “taken an
important step by admitting the murder”, those responsible must be held to
account and an independent, criminal investigation needs to be carried out
by Turkish authorities
- Of the 18 men arrested by Saudi
Arabia in the investigation, 15 have already been identified by Turkish
police as members of the hit squad who flew in and out of Istanbul the
same day Khashoggi was killed.
- Riyadh’s suggestion the killing
was a rogue extradition operation gone wrong is unsatisfactory and
Turkey’s investigation is still ongoing. Erdoğan also strongly criticised
Saudi Arabia’s “inconsistent statements” over the case so far, and
demanded the kingdom identify the “local collaborator” who allegedly
disposed of Khashoggi’s body.
- Tellingly, Erdoğan spoke of Saudi
King Salman’s “sincerity” in the investigation so far, but made no mention
of his son, Mohammed bin Salman, whom it is believed was probably aware
of, and possibly even ordered, the silencing of his prominent critic.
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