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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Saudi Arabia to release footage from journalist President Jamal Khashoggi and President Donald Trump asked for answers to his disappearance.
The Washington Post, the daily to which Khashoggi was a contributor, added to the mystery by reporting Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman had been instructed to "lure" the critical journalist back home.
Khashoggi has not been seen since October 2 when he went to Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain official documents for his upcoming marriage. Turkish officials quoted in media have said he was killed but Riyadh denies that.
The mystery has captivated the world but also threatens to harm the brittle Turkish-Saudi relations and hurt efforts by the crown prince to improve the image of his country with a reform drive.
Erdogan challenged Saudi Arabia to provide CCTV images to be safe.
"Is it possible to have a camera in a consulate, in an embassy? Is it possible that this incident took place?" Erdogan told Turkish reporters in comments published in newspapers.
"If a bird flew, or a fly or a mosquito appeared, the systems would capture this; they (Saudi Arabia) have the most cutting-edge systems," he was quoted as saying.
The consulate said CCTV cameras were not working that day and dismissed the murder claims as "baseless".
– 'Demanding everything' –
The case is also threatening the strong relationship with Prince Mohammed, who wants to turn the oil-rich conservative kingdom into a hub for innovation and reform.
The two sides have worked together on challenging Iran, despite growing concern over the prince's campaign against dissidents, which critics say has shown up the true face of his rule.
In a reversal from Washington 's initial low – key response, Trump asked for answers after he spoke to Saudi authorities "at the highest level".
"We're demanding everything." "We want to see what's going on there," he said. Trump later told "Fox News at Night" that "it would not be a good thing at all" if Saudi involvement was proven.
Khashoggi is a government adviser who fled Saudi Arabia in September 2017 and lived in the USA fearing arrest back home.
In his columns for the Washington Post and comments elsewhere, Khashoggi was critical of some policies of Mohammed bin Salman as well as Riyadh's role in the war in Yemen.
– 'Can not remain silent' –
While unnamed Turkish officials quoted in the media have been giving evidence of the alleged murder, Erdogan has so far been more circumspect.
He has said Saudi Arabia must prove his version of events but so far has stopped the charges of directly accusing the kingdom or laying the blame on the powerful Crown Prince.
Erdogan said, "It's not possible for us to stay silent.
He added that it would not be right to comment but he said he had "concerns".
Ankara and Riyadh have worked in recent years to maintain cordial relations with disputes over key issues, such as the ousting of the Islamist Egyptian Government and the blockade on Turkey's key regional ally Qatar.
Friends of Khashoggi told the Washington Post that, for the sake of a long time, they have been able to offer their services. Khashoggi was skeptical of such offers.
Following the Washington Post report, State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said the US "had no advanced knowledge of Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance".
Turkish police are looking into a team of 15 Saudis who they say were at the consulate at the same time as Khashoggi and arrived in Istanbul on October 2 on board two private planes. Turkish media said the 15 were an "assassination team" and that they took the consulate's footage with them.
After Sabah daily, the most popular articles in the history of Saudi Arabia.
Turkish police are also analyzing CCTV footage which showed a vehicle that went back to the consulate and then to the consul-general after 1200 GMT, two hours after Khashoggi had entered the mission.
Turkish authorities have been given permission to seek the consulate.
Demonstrators staged protests outside the Saudi embassy in Washington to seek justice for missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
CCTV video from Istanbul's Ataturk airport made available by Turkish Newspaper Sabah allegedly shows suspects in the case of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi went missing on October 2
Details of the alleged murder of Jamal Khashoggi
