“Some data, which are being assessed by our security and intelligence units as we speak, indicate the incident was definitely premeditated. As the assessment of these data is completed, they will be included in the prosecutor’s case file,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (President of Turkey) said today during AK Party’s Parliamentary Group Meeting.
“It appears that the squad who planned and executed the murder had been informed of Jamal Khashoggi’s visit,” and The President of Turkey continued: “That is to say, a planning, a roadmap starts to function here. The fact that some consulate personnel went back to their country in a hurry indicates the preparations were made there.”
“The murder may have taken place at the consulate premises, which is considered Saudi Arabia’s territory. However, it must not be forgotten that it is within the borders of Turkey,” President Erdoğan underlined, adding: “Neither the Vienna Convention nor other international laws allow the investigation into such a brutal murder to be cloaked behind the shield of diplomatic immunity. We will definitely examine and investigate this murder with all its aspects and do whatever is necessary.”
By admitting the murder, the Saudi Administration has taken an important step, President Erdoğan stressed, noting: “We now expect them to openheartedly lay bare all perpetrators from top to bottom and hold them accountable before the law. There are strong signs indicating the murder didn’t result from a spontaneous incident, but was the outcome of a pre-planned operation.”
Emphasizing the importance of such a critical investigation being conducted by a truly impartial and just committee which doesn’t have even the slightest doubt of connection with the murder, President Erdoğan stated: “Since this is a political murder, the accomplices in other countries, if any, should also be included in the investigation.
“This is what the international law, the Islamic law, and I believe, the law of the Saudi state require. As Turkey, we will follow the issue until the end and ensure that all the requirements of both our own laws and the international law are fulfilled.”
“The information and evidences uncovered so far show that Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered. Covering up such a brutal act would wound the conscience of all mankind” underpinned the President of Turkey and he also underscored: “Turkey pursues the matter in the name of the international community as a representative of humanity’s shared conscience and also for its sovereign rights.
Today Crowned Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz today met Jamal Khashoggi’s son to express his deepest condolences for the death of the journalist.
Image over the headline.- Crowned Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz meets Jamal Khashoggi’s son to express his condolences for the death of the journalist. Photo Ministry of foreighn affairs of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Related Eastwind links:
There will be no oil embargo from Saudi Arabia by the Khashoggi affair, says Saudi Minister of Energy
Related Eastwind links (Spanish edition):
La sombra de Khashoggi no logra ni de lejos frenar la inversión extranjera en Arabia Saudita
