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The source said Mutreb was perfectly aware of the "plot" of the operation.
Mutreb, who was the first secretary of the Saudi embassy in London and has been described as a colonel in the Saudi intelligence service, is closely linked to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "He was seconded to an elite protection brigade within the Royal Guard to serve as a personal security force of the [the crown prince], "a Saudi source told CNN.
Mutreb appeared on photographs alongside bin Salman during the Crown Prince's tour to the United States earlier this year.
Several US officials told CNN that any operation involving members of the Crown Prince's restricted circle could not have happened without his knowledge.
Images of security cameras meant to show the movements of Mutreb, one of the 15 Saudis suspected by the Turkish authorities of being linked to the disappearance and alleged death of Khashoggi, were published Thursday by a newspaper Turkish.
Turkish investigators continue to look for clues about what happened to Jamal Khashoggi, as more and more individuals are presumed to be responsible for the journalist's murder and have close ties with the highest authorities in the country. Saudi government.
The four images, which the pro-government Sabah newspaper claimed to have obtained from Turkish security sources, were shown in Mutreb on October 2 in Istanbul.
Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, went to the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 2 for papers that would have allowed him to marry his Turkish bride. The insider turned critic of the Saudi government has not been seen since.
The surveillance images allegedly show:
- Mutreb arriving at the Saudi consulate at 9:55 am on the day of Khashoggi's disappearance. He enters the consulate. Other members of the Saudi group that arrived that day in Istanbul seem to be behind him.
- Mutreb in front of the Consul General's residence at 16:53. That day.
- Mutreb, at the Movenpick Hotel near the consulate, apparently leaving. He was one of many Saudis to have booked until October 5, but left on October 2. There is no timestamp on this image. The suitcase next to him is circled, but we do not know if it belonged to him or not to another guest.
- Mr. Mutreb arrived at the general aviation terminal of Ataturk Airport in Istanbul at 17:58, shortly before the departure of a private plane to which Turkish officials had previously indicated his boarding. This plane returned to Riyadh via Cairo after spending about an hour on the ground in Istanbul.
The images and their timestamps are consistent with what CNN had previously reported on Mutreb's movements on 2 October, based on Turkish sources. The images of the person are very similar to others that CNN obtained from Mutreb.
Passport scans
Turkish officials also provided CNN with passport scans of seven other men whom they suspected were among the 15 members of the Saudi team. The passport scanners were taken on the day of Khashoggi's disappearance.
One of the passport scanners seems to belong to Salah Muhammad al-Tubaiqi (spelled Salah Mohammed A Tubaigy in the document), listed as head of forensic medicine at the Saudi Ministry of the Interior.
In an interview with Asharq al-Awsat, a Saudi newspaper based in London, in 2014, Tubaiqi praised a mobile clinic designed to perform autopsies in record time of seven minutes, the first of its kind. kind to the world. Tubaiqi, who at the time was working as a forensic consultant and clinic supervisor, told the newspaper that his idea was to design the clinic to allow coroners to perform forensic examinations and dissect bodies at the scene of a crime or accident.
Mr. Tubaiqi spent three months studying at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) in Australia as of June 2015, CNN spokesman Deb Withers told CNN on Thursday. CNN.
Tubaiqi was present as a medical examiner and his study was funded by the Saudi government, Withers said. He was head of the Saudi Arabian Forensic Commission during his visit to Australia, according to the VIFM annual report for 2014-2015.
Withers told CNN that, during his visit to the institute, Tubaiqi had been focusing on mass identification methods of the body, especially in relation to the Hajj, according to his request placement at VIFM.
Withers said Tubaiqi spent time looking at autopsies, observing procedures at the morgue, and learning from radiologists about CT scans. He was not allowed to perform autopsies or other procedures.
Muhammad Saad al-Zahrani, who appeared on Saudi public television alongside bin Salman, is another member of the group identified by the official Turkish media and appearing in the passport scans. His name is spelled Mohammed Saad Alzahrani in the scanned document.
Turkish investigators dressed in hazmat suits raided the residence of the Saudi consul general in Istanbul on Wednesday, two days after the search of the Saudi consulate in the city.
The search of the residence, which also concerned dogs, began Thursday morning. There was no word on whether something was discovered.
Turkish officials told CNN that Khashoggi's body was dismembered after his assassination at the consulate. Riyadh denied knowing where he was.
CNN's Tim Lister reported from Ankara and Gul Tuysuz of Istanbul, while Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. Spencer Feingold contributed to this report from Atlanta.
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