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Turkish authorities searched the villa and another in the Turkish province of Yalova on Monday for evidence of the murder and dismemberment of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Erdem Sahin / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock)
ISTANBUL – A Saudi agent involved in the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi had discussed the possibility of hiding Khashoggi's dismembered remains during a phone call the day before the killing, Turkish prosecutors said on Monday.
During a phone conversation on Oct. 1 between Agent Mansour Othman Mr. Abbahussain and a Saudi businessman selling a villa in Turkey, "the conversation was about what would be made to destroy / hide the body of the killed journalist "after he was dismembered, according to a statement from the prosecutor.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor who had written articles criticizing current Saudi leaders, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 by members of a 15-member team that had been sent to Turkey from Saudi Arabia. Saudi prosecutors. His remains have not been found.
The telephone discussion, if confirmed, reinforces Turkey's repeated claims that the killing of Khashoggi was planned. Saudi prosecutors said the officers were ordered only to persuade or force Khashoggi to return to Saudi Arabia and kill the journalist in a fight at the consulate.
Information on this phone call led Turkish investigators to search Monday two villas in northwestern Turkey on Monday Monday, one of which was owned by a Saudi businessman who reportedly spoke to the police. agent, according to the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
The businessman was not in Turkey when Khashoggi was killed and has not visited the country since, the news agency said. In addition to the search of the villas, security agents, using sniffer dogs and drones, drained a well in the courtyard of one of the houses. It was not clear whether the research, in Yalova province, had provided evidence.
Turkey's regular publication of the details of the investigations kept Saudi leaders on the defensive and forced the Saudi authorities to belatedly admit that its agents were responsible for killing Khashoggi. The investigation drew attention to the policies of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, who imprisoned rivals, clerics and independent political activists in his country.
To counter this negative publicity, Mohammed began a tour of the Arab States last week, where he met closely with the Allied leaders in Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. He was due to visit Tunisia on Tuesday.
Activists and journalists who protested against Mohammed's visit to the Tunisian capital on Monday waved a banner of the Crown Prince holding a chain saw – a reference to the dismemberment of Khashoggi, reported Bloomberg News.
Zeynep Karatas contributed to this report.
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