Jamal Khashoggi: Erdogan says murder was ′planned′ | News | DW | 23.10.2018

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Jamal Khashoggi: Erdogan says murder was 'planned'

The Turkish president has laid out the first official version of the investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia could face its worst crisis if the crown prince is linked to the killing.

Security surrounds a parking area after a vehicle with Saudi diplomatic plates was discovered inside

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told lawmakers on Tuesday that Turkey had "strong evidence" the murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was planned in advance by Saudi officials, contradicting Saudi accounts that the journalist died accidentally in a "fistfight" in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The Saudi government's alleged involvement in the journalist's death has caused an international outcry and prompted Germany to halt arms sales to the country.

What did Erdogan say?

  • Turkey has strong evidence that Saudi officials planned Khashoggi's murder days in advance.
  • Saudi team visited forest in Istanbul and Yalova before Khashoggi's disappearance on October 2.
  • Consulate security cameras were removed.
  • A day before the murder, a number of forensics, intelligence specialists arrived in Istanbul
  • A Saudi team of 15 entered the consulate on the day of Khashoggi's murder.
  • Eighteen people arrested in Saudi Arabia in relation to the murder matches those identified by the Turkish intelligence.
  • Khashoggi was killed in a violent, savage murder.
  • He had no doubt to question the integrity of the Saudi King.
  • The issue of diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention would be discussed in regards to the case.
  • The suspects should be tried in Istanbul and not in Saudi Arabia.
Turkish President Recep Tayyep Erdogan

Erdogan said Khashoggi was violently murdered

Only Turkey knows: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said hours before the speech that Turkey had not shared any information about the case with other countries. He added however that Ankara would be willing to cooperate with an international probe. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters that such a killing must "never happen again" and promised a thorough investigation into Kashoggi's death.

Read more: Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

Turkey-Saudi rift: Relations between the two Middle Eastern countries were already strained amid disagreements over the conflict in Syria. DW's Istanbul correspondent Dorian Jones says the Turkish president's revelations could worsen ties even further: "If Turkey has information linking the crown prince to the murder, the kingdom could face its worst crisis in decades."

Read more: Jamal Khashoggi's murder through the lens of Middle Eastern media

  • A still image taken from CCTV video claims to show Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi as he arrives at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul.

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    Vanishes into thin air

    October 2: Prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to obtain an official document for his upcoming marriage to his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz. He never emerged from the building, prompting Cengiz, who waited outside, to raise the alarm.

  • Jamal Khashoggi speaks on his cellphone

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    Confusion over whereabouts

    October 3: Turkish and Saudi officials came up with conflicting reports on Khashoggi's whereabouts. Riyadh said the journalist had left the mission shortly after his work was done. But Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the journalist was still in the consulate.

  • In this February 1, 2015, file photo, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks during a press conference in Manama, Bahrain.

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    Murder claims

    October 6: Turkish officials said they believed the journalist was likely killed inside the Saudi consulate. The Washington Post, for which Khashoggi wrote, cited unnamed sources to report that Turkish investigators believe a 15-member team "came from Saudi Arabia" to kill the man.

  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a business forum during his visit to Budapest, Hungary.

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    Ankara seeks proof

    October 8: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Saudi Arabia to prove that Khashoggi left its consulate in Istanbul. Turkey also sought permission to search the mission premises. US President Donald Trump voiced concern about the journalist's disappearance.

  • Virgin Group's Richard Branson stands in front of SpaceShipTwo during the rocket plane's worldwide debut.

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    'Davos in the Desert' hit

    October 12: British billionaire Richard Branson halted talks over a $1 billion Saudi investment in his Virgin group's space ventures, citing Khashoggi's case. He also pulled out of an investment conference in Riyadh dubbed the "Davos in the Desert." His move was followed by Uber's Dara Khosrowshahi, JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon and a host of other business leaders.

  • Turkish police forensic experts arrive at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    Search operation

    October 15: Turkish investigators searched the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The search lasted more than eight hours and investigators removed samples from the building, including soil from the consulate garden and a metal door, one official said.

  • A man holds a poster of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a protest

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    Death after fistfight

    October 19: Saudi Arabia finally admitted that Khashoggi died at the consulate. The kingdom's public prosecutor said preliminary investigations showed the journalist was killed in a "fistfight." He added that 18 people had been detained. A Saudi Foreign Ministry official said the country is "investigating the regrettable and painful incident."

  • Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    'Grave mistake'

    October 21: Saudi Arabia provided yet another account of what happened to Khashoggi. The kingdom's foreign minister admitted the journalist was killed in a "rogue operation," calling it a "huge and grave mistake," but insisted that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had not been aware of the murder. Riyadh said it had no idea where Khashoggi's body was.

  • A patrol boat being loaded onto a ship

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    Germany halts arms sales

    October 21: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would put arms exports to Saudi Arabia on hold for the time being, given the unexplained circumstances of Khashoggi's death. Germany is the fourth largest exporter of weapons to Saudi Arabia after the United States, Britain and France.

  • default

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    Strangled to death, dissolved in acid

    October 31: The Turkish prosecutor concluded that Khashoggi was strangled to death soon after entering the consulate, and was then dismembered. Another Turkish official later claimed the body was dissolved in acid. Turkish President Erdogan said the order to murder the journalist came from "the highest levels" of Saudi Arabia's government.

  • Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Commission President makes a speech at the UN

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    Grilled at the UN

    November 5: Saudi Arabia told the United Nations it would prosecute those responsible for Khashoggi's murder. This came as the United States and dozens of other countries raised the journalist's death before the UN Human Rights Council and called for a transparent investigation.

  • Hatice Cengiz

    Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death

    Fiancee in mourning

    November 8: Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, wrote on Twitter that she was "unable to express her sorrow" upon learning that the journalist's body was dissolved with chemicals. "Are these killers and those behind it human beings?" she tweeted.

    Author: Ashutosh Pandey


A mysterious death: Khashoggi went missing on October 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to pick up marriage documents. Turkey says it had a recording that proves the journalist was murdered and dismembered within the consulate. Saudi Arabia initially said Khashoggi had left the consulate after the appointment. But on Saturday, it admitted Khashoggi had been killed in a fistfight  during a "rogue operation,"  and that it was investigating the murder.

World skeptical over Saudi claims: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has dismissed the Saudi government's explanation  as "insufficient" and ordered a temporary pause in arms sales to the country. US President Donald Trump and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian have also voiced scepticism about the explanation. The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, Gina Haspel, has arrived in Turkey to help investigate Khashoggi's death, according to Reuters news agency. 

'Cold blooded' murder: Khashoggi's Washington Post editor, Karen Attiah, told DW that the journalist suffered "unbearable oppression" from the Saudi authorities. She said the global response "sends a message to journalists around the world about whether regimes can get away with murdering them in cold blood."

Who was Khashoggi? The 59-year-old journalist had worked as a government adviser in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, he became a prominent critic of the Saudi government and the kingdom's 33-year-old crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. He lived in the United States prior to his death and wrote a monthly column for The Washington Post.

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