Saudi official presents new version of Jamal Khashoggi's death

RIYADH (Reuters) – While Saudi Arabia was facing growing skepticism over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a senior government official has presented a new version of death at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, which contradicts earlier explanations.

The latest report, provided by a Saudi official who requested anonymity, contains details of how the team of 15 Saudi nationals sent to confront Khashoggi on October 2 had threatened him with drugs. and kidnapped, and then killed him in a choking action when he had resisted. A member of the team then put on Khashoggi's clothes to make him feel like leaving the consulate.

After denying any involvement in the disappearance of Khashoggi, 59, for two weeks, Saudi Arabia said Saturday morning that he had died as a result of a hand-to-hand combat at the consulate. An hour later, another Saudi official attributed the death to a strangling that the top official repeated.

Turkish officials suspect that Khashoggi's body, a Washington Post columnist and critic of powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was cut off, but the Saudi official said he had been wrapped in a rug and handed over to a "local cooperator". Asked about allegations that Khashoggi was tortured and beheaded, he said the preliminary results of the survey did not suggest that.

The Saudi official presented what he said were internal Saudi intelligence documents, which seemed to describe an initiative to bring back dissidents to Saudi Arabia, including the Khashoggi project. He also presented the testimonies of those involved in what he described as a cover-up by the 15-person team and the first results of an internal investigation. He did not provide evidence to support the findings of the investigation and other evidence.

This story is the last Saudi account that has changed several times. Authorities initially denied reports of Khashoggi's disappearance inside the consulate and claimed that he had left the building shortly after his arrival. When the media announced a few days later that he had been killed on the spot, they called the charges "unfounded".

Asked by Reuters why the government's version of Khashoggi's death was constantly changing, the official said the government's initial account was based on "false information reported internally at the time".

"Once it became clear that these initial mission reports were false, the government launched an internal investigation and refrained from any other public comment," said the official, adding that the The investigation was continuing.

Turkish sources said the Turkish authorities had an audio recording purported to document the killing of Khashoggi inside the consulate but had not yet published it.

Riyadh dispatched a high-level delegation to Istanbul on Tuesday and ordered an internal investigation.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was not satisfied with Saudi Arabia's treatment of Khashoggi's death, adding that the questions remained unanswered. Germany and France on Saturday called Saudi Arabia's explanation of Khashoggi's death.

According to the latest version of the death, the government wanted to convince Khashoggi, who moved to Washington a year ago to fear reprisals, to return to the kingdom as part of a campaign to prevent the recruitment of dissidents. Saudi by the enemies of the country. said the manager.

To this end, the Deputy Head of the General Intelligence Presidency, Ahmed al-Asiri, assembled a team of 15 members of the security and intelligence forces who would travel to Istanbul to meet Khashoggi at the consulate and try to convince him. return to Saudi Arabia.

"There is a standing order to negotiate the peaceful return of dissidents; which gives them the power to act without returning to management, "said the manager.

"Asiri is the one who trained the team and asked for an employee who worked with Royal Councilor Saud al-Qahtani and who knew Jamal since the time they both worked at the embassy. London, "he said.

The official said that Qahtani, who worked for the Crown Prince, had signed the mandate of one of the employees leading the negotiations.

According to the plan, the team could keep Khashoggi in a safe place outside Istanbul, but then release him if he refused to return to Saudi Arabia, said this official.

Things went wrong from the start, the team overstepped his orders and quickly made use of the violence, said the official.

Khashoggi was introduced into the Consul General's office where an agent named Maher Mutreb told him about his return to Saudi Arabia, according to the government's account.

Khashoggi refused and told Mutreb that someone was waiting for him outside and that he would contact the Turkish authorities if he did not reappear in the moment, said the manager.

Khashoggi's fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, told Reuters that she had handed him her two cellphones and that she had ordered him to wait for him and to call an adviser to the Turkish president if he did not reappear.

According to the accountant's account, Khashoggi reportedly told Mutreb in the consul's office that he was violating diplomatic standards. He added, "What are you going to do with me? Do you intend to kidnap me? "

Mutreb replied, "Yes, we will drug you and kidnap you," he said in an attempt to intimidate him against the mission's goal.

When Khashoggi raised his voice, the team panicked. They took steps to restrain him, putting him in a stranglehold and covering his mouth, according to the government's story.

"They tried to stop him from screaming but he died," said the official. "The intention was not to kill him."

When asked if the team had choked Khashoggi, the official said, "If you put a man of Jamal's age in this position, he would probably die."

To conceal their mischief, the team wrapped Khashoggi's body in a carpet, put him in a consular vehicle and handed him to a "local cooperator" to be eliminated, said the official. Forensic expert Salah Tubaigy tried to remove all traces of the incident, the official said.

Turkish officials told Reuters that Khashoggi's killers reportedly dumped his remains in the Belgrad Forest, near Istanbul, and in a rural area near the city of Yalova, 90 kilometers south of Istanbul.

Turkish investigators will probably find out what happened to the body "before long," a senior official said.

The Saudi official said the local cooperator was an Istanbul resident but would not reveal his nationality. The official said the investigators were trying to determine where the body was.

Meanwhile, agent Mustafa Madani put on Khashoggi's clothes, glasses and the Apple Watch before exiting through the back door of the consulate to give the impression that Khashoggi was out of the building. Madani went to the Sultanahmet district where he disposed of the property.

The official said the team had then drafted a false report for the superiors, claiming that they had allowed Khashoggi to leave once he had warned that Turkish authorities could to be involved and that they had quickly left the country before being discovered.

Skeptics asked why so many people, including army officers and an expert in forensic science, were involved in the operation if the goal was to convince Khashoggi to return home. willingly.

The disappearance of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider turned critical, provoked a massive crisis for the kingdom, forcing King Salman, 82, to get personally involved. It threatens the kingdom's trade relations, with several leaders and government officials avoiding an investor conference in Riyadh next week, and some US lawmakers pressuring Trump to impose sanctions and stop arms sales to the United States. Saudi Arabia.

The official said the 15 members of the team had been arrested and placed under investigation, along with three other local suspects.

(Written by Stephen Kalin, edited by Bill Trott and Dale Hudson)