In the murder of Jamal Kashoggi, the role of the Saudi diplomat at the consulate of Istanbul is imminent

ISTANBUL – While Mohammad al-Otaibi was walking a team of journalists at the six-story Saudi consulate in Istanbul, he avoided contact with his eyes and sank his hands in the pockets of his suit trousers. In a caricature exhibition, he opened filing cabinets and cabinets to show that journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had disappeared four days earlier, was not inside.

The Saudi Consul General in Istanbul, Otaibi, had never been a top diplomat. But that changed on October 6 with his guided tour for Reuters journalists, and he immediately became the face of Saudi denials that Khashoggi was kidnapped or killed in the consulate. He insisted that Khashoggi was out of one of the two entrances to the building.

The Saudi authorities will eventually admit that Khashoggi was killed inside their diplomatic mission, but Otaibi has already left. He had returned to Saudi Arabia. And although the kingdom retains or sacks more than 20 people in connection with the murder, Otaibi was not among them. In fact, it has not been heard for weeks.

Otaibi, top Saudi diplomat in Istanbul, left Turkey on October 16, a day before Turkish investigators searched his official residence – and three days before Saudi Arabia admitted that Khashoggi had indeed been killed at the police station. inside the mission.

Turkish investigators concluded that Saudi officials had sent a 15-man squad from Riyadh, who had killed Khashoggi and dismembered his body. These 15 Saudis were among the 18 people arrested in Saudi Arabia. Five others, including four intelligence officers and a senior royal court advisor, were fired.

The fact that Otaibi seems to have escaped so far to punishment has shocked the highest Turkish officials, who see him at the very least as a key witness and accomplice of the murder, as well as the fact that he has been killed. a liar. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has twice designated him for his role in concealment, claiming in an editorial published by the Washington Post that Otaibi had "lied between his teeth" and had fled the country.

"Although Riyad has arrested 18 suspects, it is extremely worrying that no action has been taken against the Saudi consul general," the Turkish leader wrote.

More than a week earlier, during a speech to members of his party in parliament, Erdogan had accused Otaibi of having thwarted the efforts of Turkish investigators by refusing entry to the consulate in the early days of the investigation. "I talked about his incompetence. . . the [Saudi] Erdogan added that Otaibi had been recalled from Istanbul after the conversation between Erdogan and Saudi King Salman.

The Saudi authorities refused to discuss Otaibi and the Saudi Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment and clarification on Otaibi's diplomatic status. Efforts to reach Otaibi through the ministry were unsuccessful.

Erdogan's comments about the consul general underscore Turkey's frustration with the way Saudi Arabia has conducted the investigation into the killing, with Turkish officials repeatedly accusing Riyadh of doing so. obstruction of investigators and destroy evidence.

Turkish officials accused the Saudis of blocking the search of the consulate building and the residence of the consul general, where some members of the alleged squad surrendered after leaving the neighboring consulate. By the time Turkish investigators were allowed to enter, the consulate and the residence had been thoroughly cleaned.

Turkey's frustrations have been exacerbated by the visit to Istanbul of the last Saudi prosecutor at the end of last month. Turkish officials were more interested in discovering the evidence available to Turkey during the operation than sharing information on the 18 suspects arrested in Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the kingdom has changed its history several times since the first refusals of Otaibi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who told Bloomberg News the day after the murder that Khashoggi left the consulate soon after his death. entry into the consulate.

Otaibi, appointed Consul General in Istanbul late 2016 after assignments in Nigeria and Indonesia, became a central figure in Turkey's assessment that the killing of Khashoggi was premeditated and that a careful concealment was planned .

"If the consul did not agree with this plan, he could have called the Saudi ambassador to Ankara or taken the 45-minute flight there to meet in person," said a senior official. Turkish, on condition of anonymity, to discuss an ongoing investigation. "Our assessment is that he was certainly aware of what was going to happen to Jamal Khashoggi."

The Turkish authorities have stated that Otaibi's role in the killing of Khashoggi was clearly established through his initial denials and his alleged obstructive refusal to give investigators access to the consulate after Khashoggi's disappearance.

Turkish officials however indicated that they still did not know what role, if any, Otaibi had played in the assassination.

Given his role as top diplomat at the consulate, the Turkish authorities are skeptical about the idea that Otaibi was an unconscious onlooker of the murder.

"If a murder is planned at the consulate, he will be informed," said an adviser to Erdogan, who also spoke under the guise of anonymity.

Mehdi Eker, lawmaker and senior official of Erdogan's party, said the nature of Otaibi's involvement could be determined if the Turkish authorities were allowed to question him as a witness. Eker explained that he did not understand why Otaibi was not among the Saudis arrested or fired for this case.

Khashoggi, columnist for the Washington Post and critic of the Saudi leadership, went to the consulate for the first time on September 28, looking for a document certifying his divorce and allowing him to enter into marriage with his fiancée. Turkish, Hatice Cengiz.

According to Khashoggi's friends, the reporter told them that he had met two senior Saudi officials that day, who greeted him warmly and promised to help him with the document.

"The first one met and took his contact information and told him that he would now meet another senior official, who would take care of his case," said Azzam Tamimi, a British university.

"We were worried, but he assured us that they had been nice," added Tamimi. "They are ordinary people from my country. They have nothing to do with decision makers, "Khashoggi said.

Khashoggi did not specifically mention Otaibi, said friends.

Turkish officials, who are trying to understand the depth of Otaibi's knowledge of the plot to kill Khashoggi, are trying to figure out if he was one of the high-ranking officials Khashoggi met with on September 28th.

During this initial visit to the consulate, Khashoggi suggested October 2 as the date of retrieval of the document.

The Turkish prosecutor said last week that Khashoggi was strangled almost immediately after he entered the consulate on 2 October.

Kevin Sullivan in Riyadh and John Hudson in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more:

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A year after the Ritz-Carlton roundup, members of the Saudi elite are still imprisoned by the Crown Prince

Erdogan said the order to kill Khashoggi "came from the highest levels of the Saudi government"

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