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A protester holds a photo of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a demonstration in front of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 5, 2018. (Osman Orsal / Reuters)
ISTANBUL – Turkey has concluded that Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent journalist from Saudi Arabia, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this week by a Saudi team sent "specifically for the assassination," two people said on Saturday. knowing the investigation.
Turkish investigators believe that a 15-member team "has come from Saudi Arabia. It was a planned murder, "said one of the people. Both spoke of the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
They did not offer any specific proof to back up the account. Earlier Saturday, the Turkish news agency Anadolu said the prosecutor's office in Istanbul had opened an investigation into the disappearance of Khashoggi.
Saudi Arabia vehemently denied that Khashoggi was arrested after entering the consulate.
In an interview with Bloomberg last week, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that Khashoggi had left the consulate shortly after his arrival on Tuesday. The Saudi authorities have not yet provided any evidence to support this claim.
The disappearance of Khashoggi drew attention to the repressive measures taken by Prince Salman. It also threatened to widen a gap between Saudi Arabia and Turkey, two regional powers competing for influence in the region.
Khashoggi, who writes for the Washington Post's Global Opinions section, went to the consulate on Tuesday to obtain documents regarding his next marriage, according to his fiancee and his friends.
The assassination, if confirmed, would mark an astonishing escalation of Saudi Arabia's efforts to silence dissent. Under the leadership of the Crown Prince, the Saudi authorities have made hundreds of arrests under the banner of national security. They brought together clerics, business leaders and even women's rights advocates.
Analysts have however explained that Khashoggi could have been considered particularly dangerous by the Saudi rulers because he was not a long-time dissident, but rather a pillar of the Saudi establishment close to the ruling circles for years. decades. had been advisor to a former chief of Saudi intelligence services.
Over the past year, Khashoggi has repeatedly criticized Saudi leaders, including the arrest of right-wing activists who campaigned to give women the right to drive.
In his interview with Bloomberg, Mohammed acknowledged the scale of the arrest campaign, indicating that about 1,500 people had been arrested in the last three years, but he described the suspects as "suspects". threats to national security rather than political opponents.
"Most of their business has nothing to do with freedom of expression and most of them will go home when the process is over," he said.
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