Ankara (October 23, 2018): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called for 18 Saudi suspects in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi to stand trial in Istanbul, saying all those involved had to face punishment.
“My demand is that 18 people be tried in Istanbul,” Erdogan said in a speech to ruling party lawmakers in Ankara, adding that “all those who played a role in the murder” had to face punishment.
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He said that the murder was “planned” days in advance according to a “roadmap” set up by a Saudi team who were sent to Istanbul for the purpose. Erdogan added he still wanted answers on numerous issues including “who gave orders” to the team and where the corpse is.
On Sunday, Erdogan said that he will make a statement on Khashoggi’s killing on Tuesday during his party’s group meeting at the Turkish parliament.
Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, had gone missing since entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
After denying knowledge of Khashoggi’s whereabouts for two weeks, Saudi Arabia on Saturday said he was killed during a fight inside its Istanbul consulate.
His body has not been recovered, nor has Saudi Arabia explained its shifting narrative on what transpired.
On the day of Khashoggi’s disappearance, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while he was still inside, according to Turkish police sources. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.
A joint Turkish-Saudi team completed an investigation into the case on Thursday after searching the residence of the consul general as well as the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called the son of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul by officials that allegedly included a member of the royal’s entourage.
King Salman also called Khashoggi’s son, Salah, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday. According to the press statements, both King Salman and the crown prince “expressed condolences”.
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