Jamal Khashoggi's body was dissolved in acid, poured down drain
In the latest development in Jamal Khashoggi murder case, a Turkish newspaper, on Saturday, reported that the journalist's body had been chopped into pieces, dissolved in acid, and the remains poured down a drain. The newspaper, pro-government Sabah, reported that traces of acid had been found in samples taken from the drains of the Saudi consulate where Khashoggi disappeared. Here's more.
Khashoggi had been last seen on October 2
Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. He had been missing since then. The working theory was that the journalist, who was a vocal critic of Saudi Arabia, had been murdered inside the consulate. After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia confessed to murder, but said that Khashoggi had been eliminated in a "rogue" mission.
The murder sparked an international crisis for Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's confession resulted in one of Riyadh's worse international crises, with several Western nations condemning the murder and boycotting an investment conference in the Middle-Eastern Kingdom. On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump agreed that Saudi Arabia, which has so far offered conflicting accounts about Khashoggi's death, needed to come clean and shed full light on the murder.
Turkey has released the 'Khashoggi tapes' to US, Germany, others
Meanwhile, Turkey, which had earlier claimed to have audio recordings of Khashoggi's murder, is also turning up the heat. On Saturday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey had handed over the 'Khashoggi tapes' to the likes of US, Britain, Germany, France, and Saudi Arabia. Erdogan also said that it was high time that Saudi Arabia identify the murderer.
It's not known exactly who is responsible for the murder
As for who murdered Khashoggi, Erdogan has called on Saudi Arabia to identify those responsible from among a 15-man Saudi team which arrived in Istanbul just days prior to Khashoggi's murder. Among them were chemicals expert Ahmad Abdulaziz al-Janobi and toxicology expert Khaled Yahya al-Zahrani, and Turkey claims that they were called in with the specific purpose of hiding evidence of the murder.
Erdogan: Saudi Arabia can resolve the issue easily
"There's no need to distort this issue, they know for certain that the killer, or the killers, is among these 15 people. Saudi Arabia's government can disclose this by making these 15 people talk," said President Erdogan.
