France says not enough being done to find Khashoggi killers

France has spoken out about a failure of Saudi and Turkish investigators to uncover who murdered Jamal Khashoggi.

2 min read

31 October, 2018

France has said more must be done in the Khashoggi investigation [Getty]

France has said "not enough" is being done to find the killer of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared after entering his country's consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the probe by Turkish and Saudi investigators has failed to address international concerns about a possible cover-up over the murder.

"This crime has to be punished and the perpetrators identified. The truth needs to come out. And today, even though Saudi authorities have admitted that there was a murder, it's not enough. The truth has not been revealed," Foreign Minister Le Drian told RTL.

"The investigations need to continue. We will continue to be demanding... Depending on the results that will be announced (of the Turkish and Saudi investigations), we will implement the necessary sanctions against those guilty," he added.

"We don't rule out anything on the sanctions, in coordination with our European partners," he said.

Turkish intelligence sources have accused Saudi Arabia of not cooperating in the murder investigation of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in the latest public clash between the two countries.

Saudi officials have failed to "genuinely cooperate" with Turkey's investigation into the disappearance of Khashoggi, a senior Turkish official said on Wednesday.

"The Saudi officials seemed primarily interested in finding out what evidence the Turkish authorities had against the perpetrators," the official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.

"We did not get the impression that they were keen on genuinely cooperating with the investigation."

Turkey is investigating the killing of Khashoggi, who disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

After evidence pointed to the leadership in Riyadh ordering the killing of Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia claimed intelligence officials sanctioned the murder of the journalist without the knowledge of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Previously, Riyadh insisted it was a kidnapping plot went wrong.

Turkish intelligence souces have repeatedly leaked information on the case, which have all pointed towards the premeditated murder of the journalist inside the consulate.

For weeks Saudi Arabia had insisted that Khashoggi had left the consulate alive, an account believed by few.

Despite the admission, no body has been found, with numerous theories about what happened to Khashoggi.

Khashoggi fled Saudi Arabia around one year ago and was increasingly critical about the regime in Riyadh.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman controls most key Saudi institutions and thought to be the country's real leader, behind King Salman, ordering the detention of leading business and political figures, as well as a number of activists.