ISTANBUL: The body parts of murdered dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi have been found at the Saudi consul general’s home in Istanbul, a UK-based broadcaster reported on Tuesday.
According to Sky News, the 59-year-old Washington Post contributor’s body had been “cut up” and his face “disfigured”, with the remains found in the garden of the consul general’s home.
Dogu Perincek, leader of Turkey’s Rodina party, also claimed in an interview that the journalist’s body parts were discovered in a well in the garden at the consul general’s home, Haberler reported.
The shocking revelation comes shortly after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Saudi Arabia of plotting Khashoggi’s murder. He said there can be no cover-up in the case and asked Riyadh to extradite 18 suspects.
Erdogan announced that Khashoggi‘s “ferocious murder” had been “planned”, rejecting the Saudi explanation of his death occurring due to a brawl within the consular premises.
He said the killing was planned in advance and called on Saudi Arabia to reveal more details, including where Khashoggi’s body was.
“Why has the body of someone who was officially said to be killed not been found yet?” asked Erdogan.
Surveillance cameras had been disconnected in the Saudi consulate before The Washington Post’s columnist’s arrival, the President added.
However, the President did not produce video or audio evidence his government allegedly possessed. Turkish officials earlier said they had recordings confirming that Khashoggi was tortured, killed, had his fingers cut off and was dismembered.
Khashoggi — a fierce critic of Riyadh’s human rights violations and of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s policies — disappeared after entering the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2 for the paperwork needed which would allow him to get married to his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz.
Earlier, there were reports that Khashoggi’s severed fingers were taken back to Saudi Arabia and presented to the Crown Prince as a “macabre trophy” after the murder.
Agency inputs