Assassination of Khashoggi: a body "dissolved in an acid"

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A senior Turkish official said he believed that Jamal Khashoggi's body had been dissolved in an acid after being cut.

Yasin Aktay said the "only logical conclusion" was that those who killed the journalist in Istanbul had destroyed the body "without leaving a trace".

A Saudi national and well-known critic of Saudi rulers, Khashoggi was killed and his body was dismembered on 2 October.

No forensic evidence was provided to support the claim that the body was disbanded.

"The reason they dismembered Khashoggi's body was to more easily dissolve his remains," said Aktay, an adviser to the Turkish president, in an interview with Hurriyet Daily.

"Now we see that they have not only dismembered his body, but have also vaporized it."

Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi's fiancée, called on world leaders to "bring the perpetrators to justice," in an editorial of five newspapers, including The Guardian and the Washington Post.

According to reports, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly told the United States that he regarded the murdered journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, as a dangerous Islamist.

The phone call to the White House would have taken place before Saudi Arabia admitted that Khashoggi had been killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Saudi Arabia has denied the statements that were made or indicated that his royal family was involved in the killing and said he was "determined to find out all the facts".

The Istanbul prosecutor confirmed Wednesday that the author had been strangled.

What was said during the alleged phone call of the crown prince?

During a phone conversation with Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and National Security Adviser, John Bolton, Prince Mohammed said that Khashoggi had been a member of the Muslim Brotherhood Muslim organization, the Washington Post.

The phone call would have taken place on October 9, a week after Khashoggi's disappearance.

Prince Mohammed has also urged the White House to preserve the US-Saudi alliance.

In a statement to the newspaper, Khashoggi's family denied being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and said that the murdered author himself had repeatedly denied it in recent years.

"Jamal Khashoggi was by no means a dangerous person, it would be ridiculous to pretend otherwise," the statement said.

That discovered the investigation up to now?

There is still no consensus on Khashoggi's death. He entered the consulate to sort the documents of his marriage with his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz.

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On Wednesday, Turkey declared that he had been strangled immediately after entering the consulate and that his body had been dismembered "in accordance with plans made in advance".

Turkish media had previously cited sources that Turkey had audio recordings proving that Khashoggi had been tortured before being murdered.

Saudi Arabia has changed accounts for what happened to Khashoggi.

When he disappeared for the first time, it was said that Khashoggi came out alive from the building. He later admitted that he had been murdered, claiming that the murder had been premeditated and resulted from a "dishonest operation".

He arrested 18 suspects who, according to the newspaper, will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia. Turkey wants the suspects to be extradited.

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Turkey has refrained from publicly blaming Saudi Arabia for the murder.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Saudi King Salman last week and the two men agreed to continue cooperating with the investigation.

What do other countries say?

The death of Saudi Arabia provoked negative reactions, especially from its allies, who demanded answers.

President Trump said he was "not happy" with the Saudi account. However, he also indicated that he did not wish to sacrifice lucrative arms contracts with the country.

Although their US visas have been revoked, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it would only be "a few weeks" before the United States knew enough to impose sanctions on those involved in the United States. the murder of Khashoggi.

Mr. Pompeo said that the United States had "deep and long-term strategic relations" with Saudi Arabia and that it "intends to ensure that these relations remain intact. ".

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On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that Khashoggi's death was a "crime" and an "odious" one.

He said France was not "dependent on our economic relations with Saudi Arabia" and that the country would impose sanctions, but no details were provided.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt also said that it was an appalling act, adding that he had "probably" given to the United States and the United Kingdom Uni a chance to put new pressure on Saudi Arabia on other issues.

Earlier, the United States had called for a swift end to hostilities in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition was fighting rebels backed by its sworn enemy, Iran.

What did his fiancee say?

In an editorial published in five international newspapers, Ms. Cengiz said that Khashoogi had just bought a house and wanted to start a family.

She described "the anguish" that she has experienced since her death "brutal, barbaric and ruthless".

"We must all send a clear message: authoritarian regimes can never kill journalists anymore."

She called on governments around the world to take steps to expose the truth, accusing the United States of taking a position "devoid of moral foundation".

"If the democracies of the world do not take sincere steps to bring to justice the perpetrators of this impetuous and senseless act – which provoked the universal indignation of their citizens – with what moral authority do they have?"