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A security guard stands behind gates on a blocked road, leading on Wednesday to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)
Erin Cunningham
A reporter from the Middle East covering Iran, Turkey, Syria and the wider region
ISTANBUL – The Turkish Foreign Ministry has summoned the Saudi Arabian ambassador to ask him where was the veteran journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Turkish media reported, after his disappearance during his visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul .
Ambassador Walid bin Abdul Karim El Khereiji was summoned to the ministry on Wednesday for questions about Khashoggi's location, private broadcaster NTV said from Ankara, the Turkish capital. The ambassador, who met with the Turkish deputy foreign minister, denied knowing about Khashoggi's whereabouts, the news report reported on Thursday.
According to NTV, Khereiji would have learned that "the question should be clarified as quickly as possible".
Khashoggi, critic of the direction of the kingdom, entered the consulate around 13 hours. Tuesday, according to his fiancée, who would have said to have accompanied but waited on the outside. The fiancee, who requested that his name be withheld, called the police when Khashoggi did not come out at 5 pm, after the official closure of the consulate.
[Opinion: Post contributor and prominent Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi feared missing in Turkey]
According to Turan Kislakci, a friend of Khashoggi who was standing in front of the consulate, there was still no trace of him at midnight. "We talked to some Turkish authorities and the police," he said. "I think 100% that it is inside."
Spokespersons for the Turkish and Saudi Foreign Ministries did not respond to requests for comment on Khashoggi's whereabouts.
Khashoggi, a prominent commentator on Saudi affairs who writes for the Washington Post's Global Opinions section, has been living in a self-imposed exile in the United States since last year, when he left Saudi Arabia for fear of stop it or stop it from traveling.
"We have not been able to reach Jamal today and we are very worried about his fate," the editor-in-chief of international postings Eli Lopez said in a statement. "We are watching the situation closely, trying to gather more information. It would be unfair and outrageous if he was detained for his work as a journalist and commentator. Jamal is a great writer and insightful political observer, deeply committed to the free exchange of ideas. We are honored that his point of view is part of our Global Opinions. We hope that he is safe and that we will soon be able to hear him.
Khashoggi, who was seeking marriage license documents, first went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Friday, his friends said. He went to the consulate and left without incident that day, they added.
After going to London this weekend, he returned to Istanbul on Monday and called the consulate on Tuesday morning. He was told to go at 1 pm, his friends said.
Over the past year, Khashoggi has written extensively about the growing influence of Mohammed bin Salman, the young Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and has criticized some of Mohammed's policies, including a campaign of arrests targeting opponents and suspected dissidents.
After the Saudi authorities arrested a group of women's rights activists in May, Khashoggi wrote that "the crackdown has shocked even the most stubborn supporters of the government."
In a column for The Post last month, he called on Saudi Arabia to use "its weight and influence" to end the war in Yemen.
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Zeynep Karatas contributed to the reportage of Istanbul.
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