Turkey 'cannot remain silent' on Khashoggi disappearance, says Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will not be silent on the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last week, after visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Speaking to Hurriyet newspaper, the president said that his country is investigating all aspects of the case.

"We are investigating all aspects of the event. It is not possible for us to remain silent regarding such an occurrence, because it is not a common occurrence," Erdogan said.

He also questioned the lack of surveillance footage from the Saudi embassy, which could provide crucial clues about the Washington Post columnist's fate. 

"Is it possible for there to be no camera systems at the Saudi Arabia consulate, where the event took place?," Erdogan was quoted as saying by Hurriyet.

Saudi Arabia has claimed the CCTV cameras were not working on Tuesday, to explain their inability to provide video evidence that Khashoggi left the consular building as they claimed he did.

Khashoggi went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October to collect documents that would allow him to remarry.

Concerns about his safety were raised when he failed to reemerge from the diplomatic building, leaving his Turkish fiance waiting outside.

Investigations have since opened into Khashoggi's disappearance, with claims surfacing earlier this week that the 59-year-old was killed at the consulate in a pre-meditated attack by a 15-member hit squad flown in from Saudi Arabia.

Photos of the suspected hit squad's members were published by Turkish daily Sabah earlier this week. 

On Wednesday, a Washington Post report on said that US officials intercepted communications between Saudi officials discussing plans to capture Khashoggi and lure him back to Saudi Arabia.

Khashoggi, a prominent writer and critic of Saudi Arabia's de-facto leader Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, had been living in self-imposed exile in Washington.

Prince Mohammed has led a far-reaching crackdown on dissent and opponents since coming to power, arresting prominent public figures, businessmen and family members.