Did he leave it or not? Did the missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi leave the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul? Several hours ago that question was rephrased by the Turkish police after finding, I quote, irrefutable evidence that Khashoggi was slain. A diplomatic detective story about a confrontation between Washington, Riyadh, and Ankara is becoming a brutal thriller with geopolitical overtones. Khashoggi's body has not yet been found. During a night search, the police found a trail leading to the small consulate garden. Since then, it's been bathed in camera flashes and airing on Turkish television. The reporters are also trying to guess under which tree evergreen like the Saudi flag lies the dismembered body of Khashoggi. They sneak over the yellow tape wondering why the white Range Rover parked under the trees doesn't leave the territory of the consulate.
Vitaly Karmazin with the details on what was revealed inside and what still hides outside of the consul's office.
The Turkish authorities finally got the opportunity that Saudi Arabia was denying them. After the nighttime search of the Saudi Consulate, investigators went to the residence of Consul Mohammad Al-Otaibi. Two hours before the police paid him a visit, the Consul left the country and flew back to Saudi Arabia. His black Mercedes showed up at the gates with the Consul sitting in the front.
"The Consul is leaving the building. He seems to be heading to the Consulate. He headed to the airport".
Mohammad Al-Otaibi flew to Saudi Arabia on his private jet. He's supposed to have landed by this time. The Turkish media ties his departure to the visit by the police who were searching the consulate the night before. The police sources declared that the search was productive: they found evidence that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the consulate.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey: "We discovered toxic substances. The walls were repainted and something was dragged out. Our investigation continues. Soon, we'll reveal all of the details."
Inside, criminologists used a special substance called luminol that highlights blood. The police inspected the garden where Khashoggi's body might be buried and took soil samples.
There are speculations of what was happening in the consulate right after Khashoggi's visit. It seems that the journalist was welcomed by some diplomat and invited to the office of Consul Mohammad Al-Otaibi. There, two operatives from Saudi intelligence allegedly ambushed Khashoggi. They came to Istanbul for one day. According to the media, they tried to sedate the journalist using some chemical agent and then carried him to another room and tortured him. Either Khashoggi's heart couldn't endure it or the dosage of the sedative was too high — the journalist died. The perpetrators allegedly dissected the body to conceal the murder.
Until the last moment, Saudi Arabia was claiming that Khashoggi left the building unnoticed but couldn't explain how he did that. There are two entrances, the central one which Khashoggi entered, and the back one. Both entrances are under surveillance by cameras. The cameras didn't catch Khashoggi leaving the building. But there's also the garage gate from where the dissected body of Khashoggi was taken to consul's residence.
According to preliminary data by the Turkish media a column of black cars, one of which might have carried the body of Khashoggi, arrived at the residence on the day of his disappearance. The local journalists came to the conclusion that Jamal Khashoggi could be buried here in the backyard of this two-story estate. It's noteworthy that the black van that Turkey suspects of carrying the body hasn't left the consul's residence since it arrived there.
The Turkish government threatened to search the cars of Saudi diplomats. According to CNN, Riyadh is preparing a statement allegedly saying that Khashoggi was accidentally killed by Saudi intelligence agents who weren't authorized to conduct a special operation.
"According to two sources, Saudi Arabia is preparing a statement that will acknowledge that the death of Jamal Khashoggi was the result of an interrogation that was intended to lead to his abduction from Turkey".
So far, it's just an assumption but this information is similar to the statement by Donald Trump which he made after talking to the King of Saudi Arabia. The US President said that the murder was perpetrated by some rogue Saudi forces. In the context of the political crisis, State Secretary Mike Pompeo flew to Saudi Arabia. He's already met with the King of Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Turkey suspects that he's behind the disappearance of the journalist. From Saudi Arabia, the State Secretary will fly to Ankara to meet with the Turkish government.
It seems that the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi might reshape international treaties. Today, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights declared that persons suspected of murdering journalists should be stripped off of their diplomatic immunity.
Vitaly Karmazin, Alexander Peshkov, and Aitaj Dzharchiyeva Vesti, Istanbul.
The scandal around Khashoggi's disappearance is the most difficult test for the friendship between Washington and Riyadh since 9/11. A major weapons contract worth $110 billion as well as global oil prices are at risk Saudi Arabia has already hinted that sanction pressure will be met with oil pressure. All of that because of a single Saudi dissident.
However, Khashoggi wasn't just a dissident. He began his career writing articles about his childhood friend Osama bin Laden. It's a known fact that his family has close ties to the Saudi royal family and American intelligence.
Sergey Pashkov with the details.
Journalist Jamal Khashoggi believed himself to be more of a political activist. He used to associate with ministers, diplomats, and the royal court and supported the liberal reforms of the Crown Prince but at some point, he made the wrong bet.
Oleg Barabanov, political analyst: "Jamal's patron Prince Turki used to study with Bill Clinton at Georgetown University. When Trump and Hillary Clinton began their dirty and violent election race for the US presidency it became obvious that Prince Turki, Bill Clinton's former classmate, and his entourage, including Jamal Khashoggi, were actively promoting Hillary Clinton's agenda and the agenda of the Democratic Party".
But neither his acquaintance with the Clintons nor the patronage of Prince Faisal could save Jamal Khashoggi. His patron suddenly fell from grace and was arrested. Jamal decided it was reasonable to leave Riyadh.
In a country where there are thousands princes and princesses and where the capital that gets you an invitation to the royal court has seven zeros Jamal Khashoggi could only count on the connections that he inherited from his grandfather, the personal doctor of His Majesty Abdulaziz, the first monarch of Saudi Arabia, and his legendary uncle Adnan, whose name was always in the headlines in the 1980s.
His New York apartment occupied two floors of the Olympic Tower. He bought the largest yacht in the world and let them shoot a Bond movie on it. In the late 80s, Adnan Khashoggi was considered one of the richest men in the world.
Ksenia Svetlova, expert on the problems of the Arabic Middle East: "He concluded many shady deals not acting as an individual, of course, but representing the Saudi regime. There was a close direct connection. Adnan Khashoggi was the number one person when it came to shady deals and contracts".
Adnan Khashoggi represented the bin Laden’s construction empire in New York. He used to wear his homespun dishdasha and tailored tuxedo interchangeably. He was a veil behind which big people made big arms deals negotiated oil prices, overthrew disloyal regimes, and supported loyal ones.
Mordechai Kedar, Bar-Ilan University: "The Khashoggi family became rich thanks to the king's disposition. It was the backbone of his business. It allowed him to earn $40 billion, an inconceivable fortune back then".
Adnan Khashoggi's name was mentioned in almost every major political scandal of that period. A pious Wahhabi Muslim he was ready to cooperate even with Israeli intelligence if the venture was beneficial. Legendary Mossad agent Eliezar Shafrir recalled how Adnan was mediated (and tried to capitalize on) Israel's attempts to make peace with Jordan.
Eliezar Shafrir: "When there was a chance that Israel could sign a peace treaty with Jordan Adnan Khashoggi and our businessman Yaakov Nimrodi were discussing the matter with King Hussein of Jordan and his brother Prince Hassan. They proposed creating a special economic zone on the Israeli-Jordanian border".
The 82-year-old international con artist died surrounded by his family. His nephews were less fortunate. One of them, Dodi Fayed died in the arms of Princess Diana in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris in 1997. Another one, Jamal Khashoggi, disappeared without a trace on October 2nd after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. A poor relation indeed he happened to be the hostage of the complicated long-term court intrigue that let the lucky ones ascend and plunged the others into the abyss.
Sergey Pashkov, Varvara Galemba, and Alexander Ivanyuk Vesti, the Middle East.
