Advisor to Turkish President says Washington Post contributor's body was cut to make it easier to dissolve it
Saudi Arabia has faced a torrent of international condemnation over the killing of the royal insider-turned-critic Jamal Khashoggi (below) in their consulate in Turkey. Pic/AFP
The body of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was "dissolved" after he was murdered and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul a month ago, an advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday.
The claim echoed what a Turkish official had told the Washington Post that authorities are investigating a theory the body was destroyed in acid. "We now see that it wasn't just cut up, they got rid of the body by dissolving it," Yasin Aktay, an advisor to Erdogan and official in Turkey's ruling party, told the Hurriyet newspaper on Friday. "According to the latest information we have, the reason they cut up the body is it was easier to dissolve it," Aktay said.
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"They aimed to ensure no sign of the body was left. This is what is understood from the prosecutor's statement," said Aktay, who was close to the journalist, adding, "Killing an innocent person is one crime, the treatment and extent of what was done to the body is another crime and dishonour." The Turkish official quoted by the Washington Post said that "biological evidence" found in the consulate's garden indicated the body was likely disposed of near where Khashoggi was killed.
UN chief says
The killing of journalists around the world for doing their job is "outrageous" and should not become the "new normal," UN chief Antonio Guterres said. In 2018 alone, at least 88 journalists have been killed according to the UN. Guterres called on the international community "to protect journalists and create the conditions they need to do their work."
Khashoggi was dangerous for MbS
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described Khashoggi as a "dangerous Islamist" in a phone call with President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and National Security Adviser John Bolton, The Washington Post reported. In the call, which occurred before the Kingdom publicly acknowledged Khashoggi's death, the Crown Prince said the journalist was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
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