Only Saudis have answers to Khashoggi case: UK

A combo of frame grabs made available on October 22, 2018 allegedly shows in the first image (L) Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi arriving at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, and in the second image (R), a man leaving the facility with a fake beard and wearing a similar outfit to that worn by Khashoggi on October 10, 2018 in Istanbul. (AFP photo)

The British government has further pressed the Saudi government over the case of a dissident journalist who was killed earlier this month in Turkey, saying new allegations raised by Turkish authorities showed that it was only Riyadh that could clarify the issue.  

Prime Minster Theresa May’s spokesman said Tuesday that a statement by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan earlier in the day on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi on October 2 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul showed that Saudis has more facts to reveal about the mysterious case.

“President Erdogan’s statement this morning underscores the fact there remain questions which only the Saudis have the answers to,” said the spokesman.

In remarks to his ruling party members, Erdogan criticized Riyadh’s contradictory reports in the days following Khashoggi’s disappearance, saying Ankara will not stop its investigation until all major questions in the case are answered.

“Why don’t they still produce the body of the person after their admission? Who is the ‘local cooperator’ that a Saudi official pointed at as the person who took the body? You should reveal who this local cooperator is,” asked Erdogan.

The comments came days after Saudis finally admitted the death of Khashoggi in the Istanbul mission, although they stopped short of providing evidences on how he was killed.

Governments around the world have pressed the Saudis to come up with better explanations on the case. The same British government spokesman has said on Monday that Saudis were supposed to provide the world with “urgent clarification” on how Khashoggi was killed. The official said Riyadh’s account on Khashoggi’s murder entailed hypotheses.

“There remains an urgent need for clarification of what happened beyond the hypotheses raised so far in the Saudi investigation,” the spokesman told reports.

Opposition parties and rights campaigners have criticized the UK government for its inaction in dealing with Saudi Arabia and its crimes. They say the UK should start imposing painful sanctions on Riyadh regardless of what would come out of investigations on Khashoggi’s case.


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