Alwaght- Saudi Arabia admitted dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the regime's consulate in Turkey's Istanbul.
In a Friday announcement, Saudi Arabia said that the preliminary results of its investigation indicate Khashoggi had been killed in a "fight with people who met him in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul".
Khashoggi, the outspoken critic of Saudi regime, lived in Turkey and was last seen entering the consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago. The Turkish government almost immediately accused the Saudi authorities of killing the journalist.
High ranking Turkish official, who talked to the New York Times under the condition of anonymity, said that a 15-member team of Saudi agents killed the 59-year-old writer within two hours of his arrival at the consulate, and then dismembered his body with a bone saw they had brought for the purpose. Riyadh denied the allegation then.
According to Saudi state TV, the Kingdom has relieved Ahmad al-Assiri, a top general and close aide to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, from his duties in the General Intelligence.
Saudi King Salman has also ordered the formation of a ministerial committee with the Saudi crown prince as head to restructure the General Intelligence Agency.
Reuters quoted a person familiar with the Saudi investigation of Khashoggi’s death as saying that no orders had been issued to kill or kidnap him, but there is standing order from the General Intelligence Presidency to bring critics back to the kingdom.
The source said orders were "aggressively interpreted" and subsequent instructions were "more and more unspecific" resulting in death and attempt to "cover it".
It also noted that the Saudi consulate driver was among those who handed over the body of the dissident journalist to a "local cooperator"; however, it is not clear what has happened to the body.
The person familiar with the investigation also claimed bin Salman "had no knowledge of this specific operation".
In addition to al-Assiri, Saudi Arabia also dismissed four other senior officials, including Saud al-Qahtani, a top adviser to the royal court.
Shortly after news of his arrest, users on Twitter found and reposted a 2017 tweet by al-Qahtani, in which he said, "You think I'm acting on my own? I'm just an employee and a faithful servant to my King and his royal highness the crown prince."
Trump finds Saudi explanation credible, wants arms sale to regime continued
US president Donald Trump has said he found Saudi Arabia’s explanation about the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi credible and termed it an “important first step.”
The US president added that if the US takes action, he does not want it to impact arms sales to the kingdom.
“I do, I do,” Trump said when asked if he found the Saudis’ explanation credible, adding: “It’s early, we haven’t finished our review or investigation, but ... I think it’s a very important first step.”
“I would prefer, if there is going to be some form of sanction or what we may determine to do, if anything ... that we don’t use as retribution canceling $110bn worth of work, which means 600,000 jobs,” he said during a visit to Arizona, referring to a major arms deal with the kingdom.
“They have been a great ally in the Middle East. We need them as a counter-balance to Iran. So it's not the simplest solution. It's not the simplest situation to be in,” Trump reiterated, expressing hope that “it will get solved, it will get solved.”
Meanwhile, the White House has acknowledged the Saudi announcement, saying the US is "saddened" by the confirmation of the journalist’s death.
It also said Washington will be closely following the international probe into the incident, and will advocate for justice that is timely, transparent, and in accordance with all due process.
UN chief 'deeply troubled'
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also reacted to the Saudi announcement, saying he was "deeply troubled" by the confirmation of Khashoggi’s death, a UN spokesman said.
The spokesman also said Guterres “stresses need for prompt, thorough, transparent investigation” into circumstances, and full accountability for those responsible".
