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In the case of journalist and dissident killed Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi Attorney General has demanded the death penalty for five suspects. There are a total of eleven unnamed accused. As a brain, the former deputy intelligence chief, Ahmed al-Asiri. This was announced Thursday at a press conference in Riyadh, during which a spokesman read a statement from Attorney General Saud al-Mujib. Turkey immediately requested further clarification.
Meanwhile, the US government imposed sanctions on 17 Saudis. Among them are the Saudi consul general in Istanbul, Mohammed al-Otaibi, and members of a team accused of killing Khashoggi's diplomatic mission, the US Treasury announced on Thursday.
On October 2, the Khashoggi government critic entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul to collect documents relating to the marriage with his Turkish fiance. He never showed up again. Saudi Arabia condemned the badbadination of Khashoggi in exile and opened an inquiry only under immense international pressure. Riyadh then arrested 18 suspects, including 15 members of a special team who had gone to Istanbul.
According to a Saudi statement released on Thursday, ex-intelligence officer Al-Asiri ordered the 15 commanders to convince Khashoggi to accompany them to Saudi Arabia. The situation was aggravated and the columnist for the "Washington Post" received an injection during which he died. His body was dismembered, removed from the consulate and handed over to a local employee.
It is said that the crown prince did not know anything
The prosecution again denied Thursday that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was aware of the mission. The kingdom wants to keep the heir to the throne so obviously out of the line of fire.
International experts and Western diplomats doubt that such a mission in autocratic Saudi Arabia would have been possible without the knowledge of powerful Crown Prince Mohammed. The only 33-year-old man had continued to expand his influence in the country in recent years and had used intimate confidants on old standards in the country.
Even the head of the al-Asiri act is considered a confidant of the Crown Prince. In addition, a number of the 15 members of the special team were installed near Mohammed bin Salman. Images of some of them came to accompany the prince in the security team during trips abroad.
Quoting Turkish audio recordings, the New York Times reported on Tuesday that after killing Khashoggi, a team member had said on the phone that he had "talked to his boss". US intelligence officials said it meant the crown prince, even if he was not named.
Turkey criticizes the opinion
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described the statement by the Saudi Attorney General as "unsatisfactory". Moreover, nothing explains where Khashoggi's body is. He also asked what had happened to the suspects who had dismissed the authorities. In addition, Cavusoglu expressed doubts about Riad's statement that Khashoggi was killed after refusing to visit Saudi Arabia.
Cavusoglu said: "It was planned in advance how this man should be killed and dismembered." This was specifically for the staff and the equipment was brought to Turkey.
The Saudi Foreign Minister had called him before the statement of the Attorney General, Cavusoglu said. He then informed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to Turkish justice, Khashoggi was strangled shortly after entering the consulate. His body had been dismembered and eliminated. Turkish investigators believe that Khashoggi's badbadination orders came from the highest levels of government. Ankara had shared intelligence information – including audio recording – with Germany, among others. From Berlin, it was said that there was a communication with Khashoggi.
Saudis demand evidence of Turkey
Contrary to Turkish declarations, the prosecutor's office of Riyadh refused Thursday to receive recordings. Ankara was asked to publish audios and other pieces of evidence.
However, the French government has generally welcomed the action of the Saudi authorities. The investigation was "in the right direction," the US State Department said Thursday in Paris.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, had described as "pure demagoguery" the German demands for stopping arms deliveries due to the Khashoggi affair at the end of October. He added that Saudi Arabia must first have the opportunity to conduct its own investigation.
(APA / dpa)
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