Turkish officials have said Saudi Arabia sent experts to cover up Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul.
Rabat – On Monday, BBC reported on exclusive information about Khashoggi’s murder.
According to the British news outlet, Turkish officials said that Saudi Arabia sent a “toxicologist and a chemical expert” to its consulate in Istanbul to clean up evidence of the murder.
Turkish investigators have claimed that the journalist was strangled to death and his body dismembered.
The Saudi team were reportedly sent before Saudi Arabia allowed Turkish police to search the Saudi consulate.
Saudi Arabia has admitted that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, first saying that he was killed in a fistfight and then that it was a premediated killing by “rogue agents.”
Khashoggi’s case has brought international pressure on the Saudis to explain their role in the murder and to reveal details about the body of the journalist.
Khashoggi’s sons recently spoke up in an interview with CNN. During the interview, Salah and Abdullah said they have asked Saudi Arabia to return Khashoggi’s body.
“I really hope that whatever happened wasn’t painful for him, or it was quick. Or he had a peaceful death,” said Abdullah.
Salah said that the only thing Khashoggi’s family wants is to “bury him in Al-Baqi [cemetery] in Medina with the rest of his family.”
After receiving backlash from the international community, Saudi Arabia said that it has detained 18 people involved in the murder of Khashoggi.
Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission President Bandar bin Mohammed Al-Aiban told the UN on Monday that Saudi Arabia will prosecute all suspects involved in the murder.
He said that King Salman of Saudi Arabia ordered the Saudi public prosecutor to “proceed with the investigation into this case according to the applicable laws and preparation to reaching all facts and bringing all the perpetrators to justice.”
On October 23, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on Saudi Arabia to hand over the 18 suspects in Khashoggi’s killing to stand trial in Istanbul where the murder was committed.
