The Latest: CNN shows 'body double' of Khashoggi in Istanbul
ISTANBUL (AP) — The latest on the fallout from the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul (all times local):
1:35 p.m.
Newly leaked surveillance footage from the killing of Jamal Khashoggi appears to show a man walking around in the writer’s clothes in Istanbul after his killing.
CNN aired the footage on Monday, citing a Turkish official as describing the man as a “body double” and a member of a 15-man Saudi team sent to Istanbul to target the writer.
CNN says the man walked out of the consulate via its back exit with an accomplice, then took a taxi to Istanbul’s famed Sultan Ahmed Mosque, where he went into a public bathroom and changed back out of the clothes and left.
The state-run broadcaster TRT later also reported that a man who entered the consulate building was seen leaving the building in Khashoggi’s clothes.
12:40 p.m.
The French presidency says France’s President Emmanuel Macron and President Donald Trump shared their concerns about the circumstances that led to the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The statement, calling the journalist’s death “tragic,” says the two presidents had a telephone call on Sunday, without providing more details.
Saudi authorities acknowledged on Saturday that Khashoggi was killed Oct. 2 at the consulate under still-disputed circumstances.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that details of Khashoggi’s killing will be revealed in a speech that Erdogan will give in parliament on Tuesday.
12:35 p.m.
Indonesia’s president is “deeply concerned” about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and wants a transparent investigation.
President Joko Widodo met with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Monday at the presidential palace in the West Java city of Bogor. Widodo’s concerns were relayed by Indonesia’s foreign minister following the meeting.
The minister, Retno Marsudi, told reporters that “the president is deeply concerned with the Khashoggi case and Indonesia hopes that the ongoing investigation will be transparent and meticulous.”
Al-Jubeir is on a two-day visit to Indonesia and has a separate meeting with Retno on Tuesday. Retno said the visit was scheduled after the Saudi monarch visited Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, in March last year.
12:05 p.m.
Turkish officials say the Turkish president and his American counterpart have spoken over the phone and discussed the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The officials say Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Donald Trump agreed during their call late on Sunday that the journalist’s case “should be brought to light in all aspects.”
Saudi authorities have said Khashoggi died in a fight with Saudi officials at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Turkish officials and reports have suggested that a team of Saudi agents was sent to assassinate him.
Erdogan and Trump also took up the issue of American pastor Andrew Brunson who was freed after some two years of detention in Turkey, cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the situation in Syria.
The Turkish officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations.
—Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey;
11:50 a.m.
A pro-government Turkish newspaper is reporting that a member of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s entourage made four calls to the royal’s office from the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul the day Jamal Khashoggi was killed.
The report by Yeni Safak on Monday cited no source for the information. However, pro-government newspapers have been leaking information about Khashoggi’s killing, apparently with the help of Turkish security forces.
The newspaper says the calls went to the head of the crown prince’s office, as well as a number in the United States.
Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The kingdom acknowledged Khashoggi’s death on Saturday, saying he was killed in a “fistfight.” Turkish media and officials meanwhile say the 59-year-old Washington Post columnist was attacked by a 15-man Saudi team that cut off his fingers and decapitated him.
9:45 a.m.
A top German official is pressing for a joint European Union position on Saudi Arabia after Berlin backed a freeze on arms exports to the kingdom following the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has said Riyadh’s explanation of Khashoggi’s death is insufficient. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier underlined Monday its position that “we won’t at this point approve any further arms exports because we want to know what happened.”
Altmaier told ZDF television that a joint EU position is needed “because only if all European countries agree, this will make an impression on the government in Riyadh.” He said “it will have no positive consequences if we, as we are doing, currently don’t pursue our arms exports if at the same time other countries fill this gap.”
8:20 a.m.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has called the son of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul by officials that allegedly included a member of the royal’s entourage.
King Salman likewise called Khashoggi’s son, Salah.
That’s according to statements published early Monday by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The statements said both King Salman and Prince Mohammed “expressed his condolences”
Khashoggi was killed Oct. 2 at the consulate, where he had gone to get paperwork to be married.
For weeks, Saudi Arabia insisted the Washington Post contributor had left the consulate. The kingdom finally acknowledged his death early Saturday in what it described as a “fistfight.”
Turkish media quotes officials saying a team of 15 Saudis removed Khashoggi’s fingers, killed him and dismembered him.
Comments