Erdogan: shared sound recordings on Khashoggi

Turkey provided sound recordings of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi to several allies and to Saudi Arabia. That's what Turkish President Erdogan told reporters on Saturday, the Reuters news agency reported. The Saudi dissident met with the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in early October where, according to Turkish researchers, he was murdered instantly and cut into pieces.

The audio material is shared with the United States, Germany, France and Britain, all important partners of Turkey for NATO. Ankara officially recognized the existence of sound recordings for the first time, which had already been reported by various media outlets. It is not known how Turkey came to audio equipment. The consulate was probably tapped secretly.

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According to President Erdogan, Saudi Arabia "acted honestly" in the investigation and has been frank with those responsible for the crime. murder. Turkish researchers concluded shortly after the disappearance that a special team of fifteen men had been forced to kill Khashoggi. According to Erdogan, the recordings clearly show who actually killed Khashoggi.

Ankara wants extradition

Erdogan said in early November that "the highest levels" of Riad are responsible for the death of Khashoggi, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, without mentioning it. On the international plane, it is supposed that the crown prince, who quickly took power in Saudi Arabia, gave the order. The journalist wrote in The Washington Post regular reviews of Bin Salman.

However, the United States and Turkey do not hold the Saudi Crown Prince directly responsible. Saudi Arabia finally admitted, after several versions, that the journalist had been murdered, but that would have happened on his own initiative. For the moment, Ankara is requesting the extradition of eighteen Saudis believed to be involved so that they can be sued in Turkey. Among other things, it involves a number of senior officials close to the Crown Prince.

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