Murder of a Saudi journalist: a major crisis

Here is a timeline of events since the badbadination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on October 2nd.

The Washington Post contributor is recorded on camera by entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

His fiancée Hatice Cengiz is waiting for the closure of the consulate, but he does not leave. She says that he went to get a document for their next wedding.

The next day, the newspaper reports that the veteran journalist is missing.

On 4 October, Saudi Arabia said it was investigating, while US authorities said they were considering the case.

In an interview published on October 5, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman claimed that Khashoggi had entered the consulate but had left shortly thereafter.

The next day, a source close to the Turkish government said that the police believed that the journalist had been murdered in the consulate "by a team specially sent to Istanbul and who left the same day."

Riyadh calls this statement "groundless".

On October 7, the Washington Post quoted an American official as saying that Khashoggi's body "would probably have been dismembered, removed from cartons and flown out of the country."

On October 17, the pro-government Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak announced that Khashoggi had been tortured before being beheaded inside the consulate, claiming that he had heard audio recordings of him. ;event.

The New York Times said that a suspect of disappearance, identified by Turkey, was in Prince Mohammed's entourage. Three other suspects are linked to his security team.

US President Donald Trump said on October 18 that he thought Khashoggi was dead and that he was warning of "very serious" consequences if Saudi Arabia had to prove responsibility. .

Two days later, Riyadh finally admits that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate after the talks turned into a "fight".

The prosecutor said that 18 Saudi nationals had been arrested.

At the same time, Riyadh announces the dismissal of Ahmad al-Assiri, senior intelligence officer, and royal media adviser Saud al-Qahtani, both of whom are collaborators with the Crown Prince.

On October 21, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News that a "serious mistake" had been made and that the officials had acted "outside the scope of their skills".

On October 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that the "savage" killing of Khashoggi was planned and executed by a team of 15 people from Riyadh.

Trump ridicules the kingdom's response as "one of the worst" cover-ups in history.

"It was a total fiasco," he adds later.

On October 24, the crown prince made his first public comments on the case, saying that it was "very painful for all the Saudis, it is a repulsive incident".

The following day, the Saudi prosecutor said that the killing had been "premeditated", according to information provided by Turkey.

On October 26, Istanbul's chief prosecutor initiated extradition proceedings against the 18 Saudi suspects, but Riyadh refused to comply.

On October 31, the Turkish prosecutor said that Khashoggi had been "strangled" and then "dismembered".

On November 2, a Turkish official told the Hurriyet newspaper that Khashoggi's body "was not simply cut into pieces, they had eliminated it by dissolving it".

Erdogan said that the order of his badbadination came from the "highest levels" of the Saudi government.

On November 10, Erdogan said that Ankara had shared recordings related to the murder with Riyadh, Washington and other capitals.

On 15 November, in Saudi's first confirmation of Khashoggi's murder, the prosecution said that the journalist had been dismembered and that parts of his body had been handed over to an officer outside the consulate premises.

Washington announces severe sanctions against 17 Saudis allegedly involved in the murder.

On November 16, the Washington Post quoted anonymous sources in the investigation as saying that the CIA had definitively concluded that the Crown Prince was involved in the killing.

On November 19, in his first public remarks since the badbadination, but without referring directly to it, the Saudi King Salman supports the Crown Prince – his son – and praises the judicial system.

The next day, Trump declares in a statement from the White House that the Crown Prince might have known about the journalist's murder, but adds that US-Saudi relations will not change.

"The CIA has examined the situation," Trump told reporters at the White House. "They have nothing definitive."

On November 21, Trump promised the United States to remain Saudi Arabia's "unwavering partner" and thanked Riyadh for helping to keep oil prices low.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the next day that the criticism of the Crown Prince was a "red line".

On November 28, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was "no direct connection" linking Prince Mohammed to the murder of Khashoggi.