Missing Saudi Journo: Turkey says it has proof of murder
Turkish authorities have audio and visual evidence that shows journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul just over a week ago, a source familiar with the ongoing investigation told CNN.
The source, who was briefed by a Western intelligence agency, says the evidence showed there had been an assault and a struggle inside the consulate. There is also evidence of the moment that Khashoggi was killed, the source said.
The foreign intelligence service was shocked by the nature of the evidence, provided in a briefing from Turkish officials, the source told CNN.
Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, walked into the consulate in Istanbul on October 2 intending to get paperwork that would allow him to marry his Turkish fiancée. He hasn't been seen in public since.
Saudi Arabia firmly denies any involvement in his disappearance and says he left the consulate that afternoon. His fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who was waiting outside says she did not see him re-emerge. Turkey has called on Saudi officials to provide evidence that he left the consulate, as they claim.
The Washington Post reported late Thursday that the Turkish government had told US officials that it was in possession of audio and video recordings proving that Khashoggi was murdered in the consulate, citing unnamed US and Turkish sources.
The audio recording in particular provided "persusisve and gruesome evidence" that a Saudi team dispatched to Istanbul was responsible for Khashoggi's death, the Post reported.
"You can hear his voice and the voices of men speaking Arabic," one person with knowledge of the recording told the Post. "You can hear how he was interrogated, tortured and then murdered."
TRUMP RULES OUT ACTION
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he saw no reason to cut off arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of the disappearance of Khashoggi, possibly setting up a clash with the US Congress.
Trump also said the US may be closer to finding out what happened to Khashoggi.
"They're spending $110 billion on military equipment and on things that create jobs ... for this country. I don't like the concept of stopping an investment of $110 billion into the United States, because you know what they're going to do? They're going to take that money and spend it in Russia or China or someplace else," he told reporters.
A Saudi delegation arrived in Turkey yesterday for talks on the disappearance of Khashoggi, a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP.