Saudi radio says Khashoggi's hysterical movement is causing a worldwide outcry

DUBAI, UAE – Saudi's top diplomat said Saturday that the general outcry and media attention over the murder of a Saudi journalist earlier this month have become "hysterical", urging the public to wait for the results of an investigation before blaming the highest rulers of the realm.

Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post editorial criticizing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed by Saudi agents at the Kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

"This question has become quite hysterical," said Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. "I think people have blamed Saudi Arabia with such certainty before the end of the investigation."

Some of the people involved in the Khashoggi murder are close to Prince Mohammed, who is the apparent heir of the kingdom. His condemnation of the murder as "odious" and "painful" has so far not dispelled the suspicions that an operation of such magnitude could have been conducted without his knowledge.

Al-Jubeir spoke of the growing skepticism surrounding the alleged involvement of the Crown Prince. At an annual conference of international officials, including US Secretary of Defense James Mattis in Bahrain, he spoke.

"We made it clear that we would conduct a full and transparent investigation, the results of which would be published. We have made it clear that those responsible will be held responsible, "he said, adding that the kingdom has also put mechanisms in place to ensure that this does not happen again.

"We try to find out what happened. We know that an error has been made. We know that people have exceeded their authority and are investigating them, "he said.

But he warned that "investigations take time".

"Unfortunately, there was media coverage of this hysteria about Saudi Arabia's guilt before the end of the investigation," he said.

Turkey alleges that a group of 15 members was sent to Istanbul to kill the journalist, a former Saudi insider turned critical of Prince Mohammed in the columns of the Washington Post. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the other three members of the 18-member group in Saudi Arabia were employees of the consulate.

Saudi Arabia said five officials, two of whom were working directly under the Crown Prince, have been dismissed. Al-Jubeir said Saturday that six people in total had been fired. King Salman instructed his son, the Crown Prince, to oversee the restructuring of the kingdom's intelligence services as a result of the killing. / cbb

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