Turkey seems determined to keep Saudi Arabia on its toes by refusing to share all evidence on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Saudi investigation team headed by the country’s top prosecutor, Saud al-Mojeb, met with its Turkish counterpart for a second round of talks today. Saudi investigators expected to be presented with a 150-page dossier, including interviews done with 45 Saudi Consulate employees, but the Turkish side refused to share all evidence with the team. Instead they demanded the extradition of the Saudi suspects to Turkey and information about the whereabouts of the journalist’s body, Turkish media reported.
Why it matters: Turkey seems to be keeping its cards close to its chest to force Saudi Arabia to disclose more information about those who played a role in the murder of the Washington Post contributor and the whereabouts of his remains. Turkish authorities’ reluctance to share all evidence might be an effort to prevent any efforts by the Saudis to whitewash the crime and keep its leverage over Riyadh.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the Saudi prosecutor to not protect anyone and demanded full disclosure. “Who sent these 15 people? As Saudi public prosecutor, you have to ask that question. … No need to make things difficult, this matter must be solved. At heart, these efforts are aiming at protecting certain people,” Erdogan said today in an apparent reference to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is widely believed to have played a role in Khashoggi’s death.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.