Turkey 'will not accept cover-up and reveal all' about Khashoggi killing

Riyadh on Saturday admitted Jamal Khashoggi had been killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, despite denying the allegations for two weeks and insisting he left the consulate alive.
2 min read
20 October, 2018
Turkey vowed on Saturday to reveal all details of the death of Jamal Khashoggi. [Getty]

Turkey vowed on Saturday to reveal all details of the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after Saudi Arabia admitted he was killed at its Istanbul consulate, state media reported.

"Turkey will reveal whatever had happened. Nobody should ever doubt about it," said Omer Celik, spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Anadolu news agency reported.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor and critic of Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, was last seen on 2 October entering his country's consulate in Istanbul.

Riyadh's admission came after persistent denials of his killing and claims by the Saudi authorities that the journalist had left the consulate alive.

Turkish police and prosecutors this week searched both the consulate as well as the consul's residence in Istanbul.

Celik said it was Turkey's "debt of honour" to reveal what happened.

"We are not accusing anyone in advance but we don't accept anything to remain covered (up)," he said. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday night spoke with Saudi King Salman and the two agreed to continue cooperation in the probe.

In public, Erdogan and top government figures have remained extremely cautious, often referring to a prosecutors' investigation and stopping short of pinning the blame on Saudi Arabia.

The Washington Post had previously cited unnamed US and Turkish officials pointing to audio and video recordings that prove Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate and was then dismembered.

The Yeni Safak newspaper said it had heard multiple audio recordings of the killing, and added that Khashoggi's fingers were cut off during the interrogation and before decapitation. 

Follow us on Twitter: @The_NewArab