Turkish media on Wednesday published images of a 15-member “assassination squad” allegedly sent to kill dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi arriving in Istanbul and…
Turkish media on Wednesday published images of a 15-member “assassination squad” allegedly sent to kill dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi arriving in Istanbul and of a black van traveling from the Saudi Consulate to the consul’s home.
The Saudi-born Khashoggi, whose writings were critical of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, went missing on Oct. 2 after he entered the consulate, where Turkish officials claim he was murdered and his body removed.
State-run media outlet TRT showed video of the Saudis arriving at Ataturk Airport in two private Gulfstream jets and going through passport control the day Khashoggi vanished, and checking into two hotels before leaving later that day.
Other footage shows Khashoggi entering the consulate at 1:14 p.m. but not exiting.
An hour and 54 minutes later, a black Mercedes Vito van with diplomatic license plates that appeared to be parked outside the consulate when Khashoggi arrived drove 1.2 miles to the consul’s home.
“Two possibilities, either he was killed at the consulate and his body transported out on to the planes onward to Dubai/Cairo — then Riyadh, or he was abducted at the consulate and renditioned back to Saudi Arabia,” a Turkish security official told TRT.
The private jets flew out of Istanbul — with one going to Egypt and the other to Dubai.
The next day, according to Turkish security officials, both traveled to the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Saudi officials have dismissed the accusations as “baseless” and claim Khashoggi left the consulate by another exit, but did not provide proof.
Before Khashoggi disappeared, US intelligence intercepted communications of Saudi officials discussing a plan to grab him, the Washington Post reported .
The Saudis wanted to lure him back to Saudi Arabia, but it was unclear if they intended to arrest and question him or kill him, or whether he was warned of the threat by the US, the newspaper said.
In a column published Wednesday in the Washington Post, where Khashoggi was a contributing writer, his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, said despite the crackdown on dissidents in Saudi Arabia, he didn’t think anything would happen to him when he returned to the consulate in Turkey after an initial meeting on Sept. 28.
“He did not mind walking into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul because he did not believe that something bad could happen on Turkish soil. It would be a violation of international law to harm, arrest or detain people at a diplomatic mission,” she wrote.
Cengiz, 36, who waited for hours for him to leave the consulate, called on President Trump and the Saudi ruling family for help.
“At this time, I implore President Trump and first lady Melania Trump to help shed light on Jamal’s disappearance,” she wrote. “I also urge Saudi Arabia, especially King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to show the same level of sensitivity and release CCTV footage from the consulate.”
With Post wires
