The occasional writer for The Washington Post Jamal Khashoggi is believed dead at the hands of Saudis. The Saudis have changed the story several times., but few are talking about the frequently changing story out of Turkey.
Sky News reported Khashoggi’s body parts were found in the garden of the Saudi Consul General’s home, and his face had been disfigured. Their sources were wrong and did, in fact, lie to him.
No body was found, there was no disfigured face, there is still no evidence that Mr. Khashoggi was dismembered. Turkey no longer talks about a tape of the murder, only “other evidence”.
Turkey’s President Erdogan said Friday in his remarks condemning the Saudi kingdom that they must reveal the location of his body. He also won’t release his evidence, at least not yet.
CAN’T BE TOO HASTY
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor will arrive in Turkey on Sunday as part of the investigation and will meet with Turkish counterparts. On Thursday, Saudi prosecutors said Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, citing Turkish evidence. Originally, they said he was killed accidentally in a fight that broke out.
Turkey’s President reports they have other “information and evidence” about the killing by Saudi officials after Khashoggi entered the consulate on Oct. 2, and it will eventually reveal that information, Erdogan said without elaborating.
“There is no point in being too hasty,” he said in an indication that Turkey is prepared to maintain pressure on Saudi Arabia. This is as the kingdom struggles for ways to end the crisis.
We heard Turkey has a tape of the alleged torture and murder. There is no longer any talk of tapes and, as for the Apple Watch, it has been debunked.
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We were told Gina Haspel heard the tape but there is no evidence of that, only that she went to Turkey.
CIA director Gina Haspel was in Turkey earlier this week to review evidence, and she briefed US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday.
The President has said it was the “one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups”.
“It is clear that he has been killed but where is it? You have to show the body,” Erdogan said Friday during an address to Turkey’s ruling party leaders.
The Saudis keep changing their stories depending on what evidence turns up.
THE SON HAS BEEN RELEASED
At Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s insistence, Jamal Khashoggi’s son Salah will be allowed to travel to the United States. He had been banned from leaving the kingdom.
He will come to the U.S. with his family, probably to the Washington D.C. area.
At a conference in Riyadh on Wednesday, the crown prince said the killing was a “heinous crime that cannot be justified” and warned against any efforts to “manipulate” the crisis and drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which are regional rivals but also diplomatic and business partners.
WHAT WE KNOW
What we know is Mr. Khashoggi is dead and his murder was premeditated. The Saudis said he was not dismembered and was rolled up in a carpet and given to a person who disposes of bodies.
Khashoggi’s death has derailed the powerful prince’s campaign to project a modern image of the ultraconservative country, instead highlighting the brutal lengths to which some top officials in the government have gone to silence its critics.
Khashoggi, who lived in self-imposed exile in the United States for nearly a year before his death, had written critically of Prince Mohammed’s crackdown on dissent and of President Trump’s leadership.
Reporters in this country are trying to tie the President to Khashoggi’s death.
The Crown Prince, who critics say orchestrated the murder, received resounding applause entering the Riyadh global conference.
