Saudi Arabia Admits Killing of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi

After weeks of silence, finally, the Saudi government has acknowledged that journalist Jamal Khashoggi died in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. He disappeared on 2nd October during his visit to the consulate, since then his whereabouts were unknown.

Saudi foreign ministry tweeted the information, confirming that an initial investigation by the government’s general prosecutor found that Khashoggi has been in discussions with people inside the consulate when a quarrel broke out, which later led to a fatal fistfight killing Khashoggi.

White House issued a statement acknowledging the Saudi announcement that the investigation was progressing. Press secretary Sarah Sanders, said in the statement “We will continue to closely follow the international investigations into this tragic incident and advocate for justice that is timely, transparent, and in accordance with all due process. We are saddened to hear confirmation of Mr. Khashoggi's death, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family, fiance, and friends”.

In an action that followed afterward, the Saudi government has announced the suspension of top five officials including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s adviser Saud al-Qahtani and the deputy intelligence Chief Major General Ahmed al-Assiri and arrested 18 others as a part of the investigation.

The announcement also marked for the first time Saudi officials have acknowledged that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate. As so far Saudi officials have repeatedly maintained that Khashoggi has left the consulate alive and that they had no information about his whereabouts or fate.

Turkish investigators in its early investigation have found that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by a Saudi team, who were dispatched to Istanbul. US officials also confirmed that the Turkey investigators are in possession of the audio and video recordings, which provides evidence that Khashoggi was interrogated in the consulate before he was killed and then his body cut into several pieces.

According to the Turkish investigators, about 15 Saudis came to Istanbul on October 2nd, the day Khashoggi disappeared. This 15 people executed the plan and killed Khashoggi before the country. 12 members of the team are directly connected to Saudi security services and some of them have direct links to Mohammed himself. It also led to the growing suspicion, that the crown prince is personally involved in the incident.

Khashoggi was one of the leading journalists who has often been critical about the Saudi Arabian government. He used to write for The Washington Post in their global opinion section. Earlier he was also an adviser to senior officials in the Saudi government and worked for top news outlets in Saudi Arabia and was long seen as close to the ruling elite there.

Khashoggi recently fell out with the government over Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman style of working, as he worked to consolidate his power by arresting the powerful business executives and many members of the royal family. The criticism forced Khashoggi to leave Saudi Arabia for the US. Since then the journalist has been quite critical and vocal about the Crown Prince and the Saudi government.