Jamal Khashoggi case: Saudi Arabia admits journalist died in consulate but claims he was killed in 'fist fight' as Donald Trump says it's credible

Ella Wills20 October 2018

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi died in a "fistfight" in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, the Saudi Arabian government has claimed - finally acknowledging that the writer was slain at its diplomatic post.

So far, 18 Saudi nationals have been arrested and deputy intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and Saud al-Qahtani, a senior aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have been dismissed, state TV reported.

The overnight announcement came in state media more than two weeks after Mr Khashoggi, 59, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for paperwork required to marry his Turkish fiancée. He never came out.

They also contradicted assertions in Turkish media leaks that Khashoggi was tortured, killed and dismembered inside the consulate, claims the country had rejected as "baseless."

US President Donald Trump has said he believes the explanation for the journalist's death is credible, despite previous reports torturers severed the journalist's fingers during an interrogation and later beheaded and dismembered him.

Donald Trump has said Saudi Arabia's explanation is credible
AFP/Getty Images

A royal court adviser, close to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was reportedly fired along with three leaders in the kingdom's intelligence services. Other officials have also reportedly lost their positions.

Saudi Arabia had rejected claims that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the consulate.

Turkish police officers prepare to enter the residence of the Saudi consul General Mohammed al-Otaibi to conduct a search
AP

But the country had faced growing international pres​sure to explain what happened to Mr Khashoggi.

While it fired officials close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia stopped short of implicating the heir-apparent of the world's largest oil exporter.

Saudi Arabia announced the sacking of two top officials including deputy intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri
AFP/Getty Images

King Salman, his father, appointed him to lead a committee that will restructure the nation's intelligence services after Mr Khashoggi's slaying. No major decisions in Saudi Arabia are made outside of the ultraconservative kingdom's ruling Al Saud family.

The kingdom also offered a far different version of events than those given by Turkish officials, who have said an "assassination squad" from the kingdom including an official from Prince Mohammed's entourage and an "autopsy expert" flew in ahead of time and laid in wait for Khashoggi at the consulate.

Beyond its statements attributed to anonymous officials, Saudi Arabia offered no evidence to support its claims.

Turkish forensic police officers leave after gathering evidence at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul
AFP/Getty Images

Mr Khashoggi, a prominent journalist and royal court insider for decades in Saudi Arabia, had written columns for The Washington Post critical of Prince Mohammed and the kingdom's direction while living in self-imposed exile in the US.

"God have mercy on you my love Jamal, and may you rest in Paradise," Mr Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, tweeted following the Saudi announcements.

In a statement on Friday night, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the US will closely follow international investigations into Khashoggi's death and will advocate for justice that is "timely, transparent and in accordance with all due process."

Mr Trump meanwhile called the Saudi announcement a "good first step," but said what happened to Khashoggi was "unacceptable."

Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul
AP

The announcements came in a flurry of statements carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency early Saturday morning.

"Preliminary investigations conducted by the Public Prosecution showed that the suspects had traveled to Istanbul to meet with the citizen Jamal Khashoggi as there were indications of the possibility of his returning back to the country," the statement read.

"Discussions took place with the citizen Jamal Khashoggi during his presence in the consulate of the kingdom in Istanbul by the suspects (that) did not go as required and developed in a negative way, leading to a fistfight. . The brawl led to his death and their attempt to conceal and hide what happened."

There has been no indication Mr Khashoggi had any immediate plans to return to the kingdom.

A Turkish forensic police officer carries evidence packs while he leaves the Saudi consulate
AFP/Getty Images

The Saudi statements did not identify the 18 Saudis being held by authorities and did not explain how so many people could have been involved in a fistfight.

The statement also did not shed any light on what happened to Khashoggi's body after his death.

"The kingdom expresses its deep regret at the painful developments that have taken place and stresses the commitment of the authorities in the kingdom to bring the facts to the public opinion, to hold all those involved accountable and bring them to justice," the statement said.

Earlier, former MI6 chief Sir John Sawers said "all the evidence" suggested that Mr Khashoggi had been murdered on the orders of someone close to the crown prince.

Turkish government sources have alleged Mr Khashoggi, a critic of the prince and the Saudi government, was tortured and murdered and by a hit squad flown in from Riyadh.

The Saudis first dismissed the claims as baseless, without providing an explanation as to how he disappeared after entering the consulate on October 2.

News of the arrests came as it was reported that members of the suspected hit squad came to Britain during the Saudi crown prince's state visit in March, during which he met the Queen and Theresa May.

At least three of the suspects, First Lieutenant Dhaar Ghalib Dhaar Al-Harbi, Sergeant Major Walid Abdullah Al-Shihri and Abdul Aziz Muhammad Musa Al-Hawsawi, were part of the crown prince's entourage, the news site Middle East Eye reported.

Another suspect, Major General Mahir Abdul Aziz Muhammad Mutrib, was seen emerging from a car in Downing Street during the visit, according to the Daily Mail.

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