Turkey’s defense minister said Ankara has evidence that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Hulusi Akar made the comments in an interview with the BBC published on Monday, as pressure mounts on Riyadh over the murder in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
“At the moment we have some evidence, which we have shared with allied countries. Our prosecutor is looking at the issue from every angle and every point,” Akar said, when asked if Ankara believes Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing.
“There was no surveillance within the consulate. We will not reveal the source of the recordings,” Akar said.
Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October, with Saudi Arabia claiming rogue agents and officials carried out the killing, without Prince Mohammed’s knowledge.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday that claims by the CIA that Prince Mohammed ordered Khashoggi’s murder were ‘false’.
The US intelligence assessment has directly contradicted the conclusions of a Saudi prosecutor that exonerated the prince of involvement in the brutal murder.
Source: Agencies
