The kingdom’s public prosecutor said Mr. Khashoggi died after an argument and fistfight inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Saudi Arabia has announced that Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident Saudi journalist who disappeared in Istanbul more than two weeks ago, is dead.
Eighteen Saudis have been arrested and are being investigated in connection with the case, according to a statement released through state-run media early Saturday. None were identified.
In the statement, the kingdom’s public prosecutor said that an investigation had found that an argument broke out between Mr. Khashoggi and men who met him inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, leading to “a fistfight that led to his death.”
Turkish officials have said that Mr. Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the consulate by a team of 15 Saudi agents who had flown in to meet him. His body has yet to be found.
