|
In a
shocking
twist to
an
already
mysterious
and
bizarre
saga,
Turkish
investigators
say they
believe
that
prominent
Saudi
journalist
Jamal
Khashoggi
was
murdered
inside
the
Saudi
consulate
in
Istanbul
after he
entered
on
routine
business
four
days
ago. |
|
Newspaper
says
Turkey
has
audio of
Saudi
writer’s
slaying
By
ZEYNEP
BILGINSOY
and JON
GAMBRELL
STANBUL
-
Turkish
officials
have an
audio
recording
of the
alleged
killing
of
journalist
Jamal
Khashoggi
from the
Apple
Watch he
wore
when he
walked
into the
Saudi
Consulate
in
Istanbul
over a
week
ago, a
pro-government
Turkish
newspaper
reported
Saturday.
The
new
claim
published
by the
Sabah
newspaper,
through
which
Turkish
security
officials
have
leaked
much
information
about
the
case,
didn’t
immediately
explain
how
officials
there
also
reportedly
have
video of
Khashoggi’s
alleged
slaying.
However,
it puts
more
pressure
on Saudi
Arabia
to
explain
what
happened
to
Khashoggi,
who has
written
critically
about
Saudi
Crown
Prince
Mohammed
bin
Salman,
after he
walked
into the
consulate
Oct. 2.
The
kingdom
has
maintained
the
allegations
against
it are
“baseless,”
though
an
official
early
Saturday
acknowledged
for the
first
time
some
believe
Khashoggi
was
killed
by the
kingdom.
Authorities
recovered
the
audio
from
Khashoggi’s
iPhone
and his
iCloud
account,
the
newspaper
said.
The
journalist
had
given
his
phones
to his
fiancée
before
entering
the
consulate.
The
newspaper
also
alleged
Saudi
officials
tried to
delete
the
recordings
first by
incorrectly
guessing
Khashoggi’s
PIN on
the
watch,
then
later
using
the
journalist’s
finger.
However,
Apple
Watches
do not
have a
fingerprint
ID
unlock
function
like
iPhones.
The
newspaper
did not
address
that in
its
report.
An
Apple
Watch
can
record
audio
and can
sync
that
later
with an
iPhone
over a
Bluetooth
connection.
The
newspaper’s
account
did not
elaborate
on how
the
Apple
Watch
synced
that
information
to both
the
phone
and
Khashoggi’s
iCloud
account.
Turkish
officials
have not
answered
queries
from The
Associated
Press
about
Khashoggi’s
Apple
Watch.
Turkish
officials
say they
believe
a
15-member
Saudi
“assassination
squad”
killed
Khashoggi
at the
consulate.
They’ve
also
alleged
that
they
have
video of
the
slaying,
but not
explained
how they
have it.
Turkey
has yet
to
publish
any
evidence
of him
being
slain,
though
surveillance
footage
around
the
consulate
shows a
convoy
of
vehicles
with
diplomatic
license
plates
leaving
the
Saudi
Consulate
for the
consul’s
home in
Istanbul
a little
under
two
hours
after
Khashoggi’s
arrival.
Saudi
Arabia
has said
it had
nothing
to do
with
Khashoggi’s
disappearance,
without
explaining
or
offering
evidence
of how
the
writer
left the
consulate
and
disappeared
into
Istanbul
with his
fiancée
waiting
outside.
A
Saudi-owned
satellite
news
channel
has
begun
referring
to the
15-man
team as
“tourists,”
without
providing
evidence
to
support
the
claim.
It
echoes
how
Russia
has
described
the men
who
allegedly
carried
out the
Novichok
nerve
agent
poisonings
in
Salisbury,
England,
in
March.
Early on
Saturday,
the
state-run
Saudi
Press
Agency
published
a
statement
from
Saudi
Interior
Minister
Prince
Abdulaziz
bin Saud
again
denying
the
kingdom’s
involvement.
This
time,
however,
it
acknowledged
for the
first
time
that
Saudi
Arabia
was
accused
of
killing
Khashoggi.
“What
has been
circulating
about
orders
to kill
(Khashoggi)
are lies
and
baseless
allegations
against
the
government
of the
kingdom,
which is
committed
to its
principles,
rules
and
traditions
and is
in
compliance
with
international
laws and
conventions,”
Prince
Abdulaziz
said.
Khashoggi’s
disappearance
has put
pressure
on
President
Donald
Trump,
who has
enjoyed
close
relations
with the
Saudis
since
entering
office.
Trump
promised
to
personally
call
Saudi
Arabia’s
King
Salman
soon
about
“the
terrible
situation
in
Turkey.”
“We’re
going to
find out
what
happened,”
Trump
pledged
Friday
when
questioned
by
reporters
in
Cincinnati
where he
was
headlining
a
political
rally.
Separately,
Secretary
of State
Mike
Pompeo
spoke to
Khashoggi’s
fiancee,
Hatice
Cengiz,
who
accompanied
him to
the
Saudi
consulate,
the
State
Department
said
Friday.
No
details
of the
conversation
were
released.
In
an
interview
Friday
with The
Associated
Press,
Cengiz
said
Khashoggi
was not
nervous
when he
entered
the
consulate
to
obtain
paperwork
required
for
their
marriage.
“He
said,
‘See you
later my
darling,’
and went
in,” she
told the
AP.
In
written
responses
to
questions
by the
AP,
Cengiz
said
Turkish
authorities
had not
told her
about
any
recordings
and
Khashoggi
was
officially
“still
missing.”
She
said
investigators
were
examining
his
cellphones,
which he
had left
with
her.
A
delegation
from
Saudi
Arabia
arrived
in
Turkey
on
Friday
as part
of an
investigation
into the
writer’s
disappearance.
In a
statement
posted
on
Twitter,
the
Saudis
welcomed
the
joint
effort
and said
the
kingdom
was keen
“to
sustain
the
security
and
safety
of its
citizenry,
wherever
they
might
happen
to be.”
Global
business
leaders
also are
reassessing
their
ties
with
Saudi
Arabia,
stoking
pressure
on the
Gulf
kingdom
to
explain
what
happened
to
Khashoggi.
Khashoggi,
who was
considered
close to
the
Saudi
royal
family,
had
become a
critic
of the
current
government
and
Prince
Mohammed,
the
33-year-old
heir
apparent
who has
shown
little
tolerance
for
criticism.
As a
contributor
to the
Post,
Khashoggi
has
written
extensively
about
Saudi
Arabia,
including
criticism
of its
war in
Yemen,
its
recent
diplomatic
spat
with
Canada
and its
arrest
of
women’s
rights
activists
after
the
lifting
of a ban
on women
driving.
Those
policies
are all
seen as
initiatives
of the
crown
prince,
who has
also
presided
over a
roundup
of
activists
and
businessmen.
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