CGTN America
A security personnel is seen inside the entrance of the Saudi Arabia’s Consulate in Istanbul, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. A Turkish forensics teams finished a search for evidence inside the Saudi Arabia Consulate in Istanbul early Tuesday morning, over the disappearance and alleged slaying of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heads to Turkey after more firm denials in Riyadh over the suspected murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. That, as more evidence emerges in the investigation into Khashoggi’s disappearance.
CGTN’s Guy Henderson reports from Istanbul.
Turkish investigators found what they were looking for. So they packed up and moved on.
Evidence, they claim, that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi died inside his country’s consulate in Istanbul and that the alleged perpetrators then tried to cover it up.
The Turkish president added weight to reports there had been attempts to drug Khashoggi first.
“My wish is that we reach a result that allows us to reach an opinion,” Erdogan said.
Unconfirmed claims of an imminent Saudi confession continue to circulate. The Turkish foreign minister said he had received nothing yet.
Maybe U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will bring an update on that. He flies to Ankara on Wednesday but Pompeo headed to Riyadh first for a brief encounter with the aging King Salman and then a longer meeting with his son, the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was clearly out to de-escalate tensions.
“We are strong and old allies. We face our challenges together, the past, the day of, tomorrow,” said bin Salman.
Donald Trump wouldn’t confirm a theory that Khashoggi’s death was an unauthorized interrogation gone wrong. “I heard that report but, nobody knows if it’s an official report. So far, it’s just a rumor, the rumor of a report coming out,” Trump said.
The investigation is now focused on the Saudi consul general’s official residence. It’s where Turkish officials believe the alleged perpetrators came after killing Khashoggi. Reports are emerging the Saudi Consul General himself boarded a plane on Tuesday and headed back to Riyadh, just as 15 other Saudis are alleged to have done on October second.
All potential persons of interest that may now be hard, if not impossible, to reach.
Varsha Koduvayur on missing Saudi journalist fallout
Varsha Koduvayur, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, discusses US-Saudi ties and the controversy surrounding the missing Saudi journalist with CGTN’s Mike Walter.
