Trump raises Khashoggi case with Saudi king


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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Jamil Khashoggi, Saudi writer missing (all local times):

12:20

President Donald Trump said he would soon speak with King Salman of Saudi Arabia about the disappearance of journalist and US resident Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government, has been missing for more than a week after entering a Saudi consulate in Turkey. Turkish officials claimed to believe that he had been murdered there.

Trump calls this a "serious situation" and promises that the US government will find out what happened to Khashoggi. US officials say they are seeking answers from the Saudi government and are not yet accepting the Turkish government's conclusions.

Trump said that US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin will later decide to attend a conference of Saudi investors later this month. Mnuchin had said earlier Friday that he was still planning to attend.

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8:40 p.m.

The Moroccan Minister of Justice confirmed that the country had made the former security official to the Saudi royal family in Saudi Arabia in 2015, based on an opinion from Interpol. He would have disappeared a few days later.

Mohammed Aujjar's confirmation follows international news mentioning the case in the context of the disappearance of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, which came earlier this week.

Aujjar said that Turki bin Bandar, who had scrambled with the Saudi royal family and escaped to Paris in 2012, had been arrested in Morocco on November 11, 2015 under an international warrant. issued by Saudi Arabia "for disturbing the public order on the Internet and for committing financial crimes" and extradited to Saudi Arabia five days later.

The minister told the Associated Press that the Supreme Court of Morocco had ordered the extraction of Turki bin Banda and that his arrest "also followed strict judicial procedures".

The Washington Post reported that Turki disappeared in 2015.

The Moroccan authorities would not comment on Khashoggi's case.

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8:35 p.m.

Saudi Arabia welcomed Turkey's approval of the establishment of a joint Turkish-Saudi working group to investigate the disappearance of the Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the Saudi Foreign Ministry thanked Turkey for agreeing to form a "joint action team".

The Saudi delegation arrived in Turkey earlier Friday, said the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

The Saudi statement said the kingdom wanted "to preserve the security and safety of its citizens wherever they are."

Saudi Arabia has described allegations that he abducted or injured Khashoggi "without foundation".

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20:30.

The fiancee of a missing Saudi journalist is urging US President Donald Trump to use his influence to find out what happened to his partner.

Following the decision of a Turkish court to release evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson, Trump tweeted: "Work very hard for Pastor (Andrew) Brunson!"

This prompted Hatice Cengiz to ask questions about her missing fiancé, Jamal Khashoggi, a writer who had criticized Saudi leaders.

"What about Jamal Khashoggi?" she tweeted.

Khashoggi disappeared last week after entering the consulate in Istanbul to obtain the necessary documents to get married.

Trump said Thursday that relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia were "excellent" and that he did not want to escape from lucrative arms deals with Riyadh.

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17h

The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, said that France wanted to know "the whole truth" about the disappearance of the Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, qualifying the first details of the Case of "very disturbing".

Macon said "I wait for the truth and complete clarity" because the case is "very serious". He spoke on Friday in Yerevan, Armenia, before the French channels RFI and France 24.

Macron said that he had not yet discussed the issue with the Saudi authorities and the Turkish president, but that he will do so in the coming days. He indicated that he would take up position on the case after more details would be known and verified by the French intelligence services.

Turkish officials claimed that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate.

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1:15 p.m.

Germany says it is "very concerned" by the disappearance of the Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul and calls on Saudi Arabia to "fully participate" in the clarification of reports that he was killed.

Khashoggi disappeared a week ago after entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials allege that he was killed inside the consulate.

Steffen Seibert, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesperson, said: "The suspicion we are talking about here is appalling and this disappearance must be clarified as quickly and as thoroughly as possible".

He added that "Saudi Arabia must participate fully in solving this problem".

Foreign Ministry spokesman Rainer Breul said Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had sent a similar message to the Saudi ambassador in Berlin earlier this week.

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13h

According to the Washington Post, the Turkish government told US officials that it had audio and video evidence of the death and dismemberment of the missing Saudi writer, Jamal Khashoggi, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

In a report published on Friday, the newspaper for which Khashoggi is a columnist quoted anonymous officials stating that the footage shows a Saudi security team arresting the writer while he had gone to the consulate on October 2 to retrieve a document for his next wedding.

The Associated Press was not able to confirm the report immediately, and Turkish officials would not comment.

Saudi Arabia has described allegations that he abducted or injured Khashoggi "without foundation".

However, he presented no evidence to support his claim that he left the consulate and disappeared even though his fiance was waiting outside.

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12:55

According to a Turkish news agency, a delegation from Saudi Arabia arrived in Turkey as part of an investigation into the missing Saudi writer, Jamal Khashoggi.

The Anadolu Agency announced on Friday that the delegation would meet with Turkish officials over the weekend. He did not provide more details.

On Thursday, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Turkey and Saudi Arabia would form a "joint working group" to examine Khashoggi's disappearance. The journalist disappeared last week after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Turkish officials said the Washington Post contributor may have been killed inside the consulate, but they have not presented any evidence. Saudi Arabia has denied this claim, calling it "unfounded"

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