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Under pressure of new revelations, the Riyadh government has made a dramatic turnaround. She admitted that dissident journalist Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. However, she does it like an involuntary murder.
Volker Pabst (Istanbul), Andreas Rüesch, Agencies
Jamal Khashoggi in a 2015 archive recording. (Image: Hasan Jamali / AP)
Saudi Arabia admitted Saturday morning what had become increasingly certain in recent days: Saudi dissident and commentator Jamal Khashoggi violently ended his country's consulate general in Istanbul on 2 October. This is reflected in an official statement quoted by foreign media. 18 people were arrested in this context. Five government officials were dismissed, including an adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and General Ahmed al-Asiri.
Supposedly a spontaneous fist fight
The judicial authorities of the Kingdom presented the case so that the Consulate General triggered a dispute with Kashoggi, which degenerated into a "fight with fists". The journalist was killed. Clearly, Riyad is trying to counter the impression of an orderly killing action from above. The head of the royal family, King Salman and his son Mohammed, should be relieved.
However, it is very doubtful that the suspicions against the Crown Prince, the strongman of Saudi Arabia, can be refuted. Indeed, Riyad indirectly admitted to having lied to the whole world for weeks: since October 2, the kingdom had insisted that Khashoggi had left the consulate after a brief visit. The last presentation can not claim much credibility.
Previously, Turkey had disclosed to the public more and more incriminating details of the Khashoggi case. The al-Jazeera news channel reported Friday that it referred to anonymous sources from Turkish investigative circles that it would have managed to determine the exact location in the Saudi Consulate General. Arabia, where Khashoggi was allegedly murdered.
Look for body parts
It was also reported that investigators had expanded their searches on body parts. The teams are deployed both in the Belgrade Forest, a vast forest area located north of the Istanbul metropolis, and near the city of Yalova on the east coast of the Sea of Marmara. Like almost all information about the mysterious disappearance of Khashoggi, this information came from unidentified Turkish officials. the On October 2, the critical journalist of the Saudi government went to his country's consulate general in Istanbul to collect the vital documents needed for his next marriage. Since then, it has not been seen.
The White House in Washington expressed grief over Khashoggi's "now confirmed death." Congressman Eric Swalwell asked Saudi Arabia to clarify where the dead journalist's body was. "Where's the corpse?", Wrote Friday night the Democratic deputy sitting on the House Intelligence Committee on Twitter.
Despite all the hints that are almost certainly scattered, Turkey has not officially made any conclusions about this. Foreign Minister Cavusoglu confirmed that he was in possession of sound recordings of the crime. These would not be made public until the end of the investigation and, contrary to what was reported, they had never been presented to his American counterpart, Pompeo. All indications are that Turkey's information policy, on the one hand, wants to keep the pressure on Saudi Arabia at a high level but, on the other hand, continues to negotiate with the Kingdom.
A Turkish investigator records traces at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. (Image: Sedat Suna / EPA)
Riyadh has agreed to open its own investigation into the events. In badigning responsibility for Khashoggi's death to General Ahmed al-Asiri, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, deemed to be the client, must be removed from the firing line. Asiri is a prominent adviser to the Crown Prince, former alliance spokesman led by Saudi Arabia during the Yemeni war.
In order to give at least some plausibility to the thesis of an arbitrary action without the knowledge of the prince, the leader must occupy a certain position in the hierarchy of power. This would be given to Asiri.
International Printing
The Reuters news agency reported that the father of the crown prince, King Salman, has, according to sources close to the Saudi court, taken the lead in the crisis. This would be tantamount to a reduction of his son's skills. King Salman had practically left it to the political daily of the kingdom. One can only speculate as to whether the Crown Prince has lost power within the royal family and to what extent.
At the international level, more and more personalities of politics and the business world have moved away in recent days from the reformed Crown Prince. Despite lucrative business opportunities, new cancellations for the Saudi Investment Forum are announced every day, starting Tuesday. Thus, on Friday, the CEO of the Swiss group ABB Electrical Engineering, Ulrich Spiessenhofer, and the head of the armaments division of the European aerospace company Airbus, Dirk Hoke, announced that they would not go to Riyadh .
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