Turkey To Reveal Details Of Probe Into Khashoggi’s Killing

X Facebook Email Flipboard Pinterest Print Reddit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that he will reveal to the public details of his country’s investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The announcement by Erdogan will increase even further the pressure on Saudi Arabia to come clean about what happened on October 2nd after Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, congressional leaders in the United States were saying that Saudi Arabia and its crown prince should face severe consequences for the death of the writer in the consulate.

When Erdogan announced that he would “go into detail” about the Khashoggi case in a speech in the Turkish parliament he increased hopes that the truth about Khashoggi’s killing would finally be brought to light.

There have been several conflicting accounts about what really happened to Khashoggi, who was a strong critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Erdogan’s comments came after Saudi Arabia issued a statement Saturday morning in which they finally acknowledged that 59-year-old Khashoggi had died in their consulate.

The statement did not end the controversy, however, since their explanation that the writer was killed in a “fistfight” was not believable and was met with widespread skepticism in the United States and throughout the world.

Most people believe that Saudi Arabia has been involved in a cover-up as they have tried to protect Prince Mohammed’s reputation and absolve him of any responsibility for the murder. In their statements on Saturday Saudi Arabia said 18 individuals had been arrested and several of their intelligence officials had been fired.

The accounts of the circumstances surrounding Khashoggi’s death have greatly differed in Turkey. There, the news organizations have reported that Khashoggi was killed by a Saudi hit squad of 15 people. They reported that the 15 Saudi assassins came to Turkey to kill the the Washington Post writer and then left the country a few hours later in their private jets.

“Why did these 15 people come here? Why were 18 people arrested? All of this needs to be explained in all its details,” Erdogan said in his statement to parliament.

Turkish state broadcaster TRT reported also reported that Istanbul’s chief prosecutor summoned 28 staff members of the Saudi consulate to testify in their inquiry into Khashoggi’s death.

It appears that as their investigation continues Turkish officials may be the ones to ultimately reveal to the public the truth about what happened to the courageous journalist who was killed because he spoke up and criticized the repressive regime of Saudi Arabia.

Author
Recent Posts

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.