A New York judge on Tuesday ordered US intelligence agencies to acknowledge they possess a tape recording of the 2018 murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in a ruling hailed by rights activists.  

The judge also instructed the Central Intelligence Agency and Office of the Director of National Intelligence to explain why they are withholding the tape and a CIA report on the gruesome killing.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was suffocated and dismembered inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate after going inside to get documents for his marriage to his Turkish fiancee.

The October 2, 2018 murder sparked an international outcry and tarnished the reputation of oil-rich Saudi Arabia and its powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

The CIA concluded that the young royal had been responsible for the killing. President Donald Trump later said he protected Prince Salman from Congress, boasting "I saved his ass," according to a book by veteran journalist Bob Woodward.

The judge ordered the US government Tuesday to produce within two weeks a "Vaughn index" describing the documents it is withholding and providing legal justification for their non-disclosure.