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Jamal Khashoggi murder: Turkey 'shared Khashoggi tapes' with Saudi, US

By Mutala Yakubu
Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Khashoggi
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Turkey says it has shared recordings related to the murder of the journalist and writer Jamal Khashoggi with the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and others.


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his assertion that Saudi Arabia knew who had killed Khashoggi.

Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi rulers, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

Saudi Arabia has admitted he was murdered there, but denied suggestions its royal family was involved.

It had initially maintained the writer had left the consulate unharmed.

The Saudis have also denied comments allegedly made by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman describing Khashoggi as a dangerous Islamist.

The reported phone call to the White House came before Saudi Arabia admitted Khashoggi had been killed.

What do we know about the murder?

There is still no consensus on how Khashoggi died. He entered the consulate to sort out documents for his marriage.

Initially, Turkish media had quoted sources as saying Turkey had audio recordings proving that Khashoggi had been tortured before being murdered.

Last week, however, Turkey said he had been strangled immediately after entering the consulate and his body dismembered "in accordance with plans made in advance".

No body has been found and a Turkish official said it had been dissolved.

Saudi Arabia has changed its account of what happened to Khashoggi.

When he first disappeared, it said Khashoggi had walked out of the building alive. It later admitted he had been murdered, saying the killing was premeditated and a result of a "rogue operation".

It has arrested 18 suspects who, it says, will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia. Turkey wants the suspects to be extradited.

Turkey has not publicly blamed Saudi Arabia for the killing.

"We gave the recordings, we gave them to Saudi Arabia, we gave them to Washington, to the Germans, to the French, to the English," President Erdogan said in a televised speech on Saturday.

"They listened to the conversations which took place here, they know", he said.

No other country has admitted hearing the said recording.

Khashoggi's fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, has called on world leaders to "bring the perpetrators to justice".

Source: bbc