By Laura McBride, Past Writer
The Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed after a fight in the consulate in Istanbul, Saudi state television has confirmed.
The Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed after a fight in the consulate in Istanbul, Saudi state television has confirmed.
The Saudi public prosecutor announced on state television in the early hours of Saturday morning that Khashoggi, who disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on the 2nd of October, had been killed after a fight broke out.
Following almost three weeks of speculation, the nation has announced that 18 Saudi nationals have been arrested in connection with his murder, with intelligence officer General Ahmed al-Asiri dismissed from his position in relation to the event. It is unknown at the time of publishing whether Saudi nationals identified by the Turkish government as suspects in the case are included in this number.
Since the journalist’s disappearance, intense international pressure has been placed on the kingdom to admit what happened inside the consulate, which has only been intensified by the release of audio tapes, allegedly recording Khashoggi’s ordeal, to Turkey’s press. He had originally entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey’s largest city in order to retrieve official documents pertaining to his marital status in order to marry his Turkish fiancée.
Khashoggi had fled Saudi Arabia due to fears that his critical perspective of events inside the country were putting his life in danger. Upon settling in America, he wrote a column for the Washington Post, often disparaging the country for corruption, especially with regard to the current ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al Saud.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, president Trump branded the Saudi explanation as ‘credible’, having previously adopted the stance of retaining trade links with the Saudis.
This article is accurate as of 00:00 on Saturday 20th October.
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