Manama: Saudi public prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb on Tuesday visited Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul as part of an investigation into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Al Mojeb held talks with Istanbul’s chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan on Monday.
The two men met again on Tuesday at the court house before Al Mojeb headed to the consulate where Khashoggi was killed, Turkish daily Hürriyet reported.
Khashoggi’s death at the consulate on October 2 has escalated into a major international incident involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and several other countries.
Al Mojeb is leading his government’s probe into the death of Khashoggi.
Al Mojeb said Friday that the information he received from Turkish investigators suggested the killing was premeditated.
His visit came as US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said Sunday that he had he received assurances from Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat that the kingdom would conduct a full and complete investigation.
The Saudi-Turkish joint team carried our searches at the consulate and at the residence of the consul a few hundred metres away, looking for evidence and for the body of Khashoggi.
Reports said the body had been handed over by the Saudi agents to a Turkish collaborator.
Saudi crown prince: Khashoggi case painful, justice will prevail
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday Saudi and Turkish prosecutors sharing information on the investigation is useful, adding that the cooperation should continue. He made the comments during a news conference with Azeri and Georgian foreign ministers.
Turkey is seeking the extradition of the Saudi suspects detained for the killing. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir, however, said the kingdom will try the perpetrators and bring them to justice after the investigation is completed.
Khashoggi body still missing
Turkish police also searched other areas looking for traces and clues that could help them in their investigation. Khashoggi’s body is still missing and Saudis said that it had been handed over to a Turkish contractor.
Hürriyet, citing a police source, reported on Friday that no DNA evidence was found in the well in the Saudi consulate where Turkish authorities on carried out inspections on Wednesday.
Recent inspections on consular vehicles also produced no clues about the whereabouts of Khashoggi’s body.
The police source also revealed the clothes found inside the trunk of a consular car left abandoned at a parking lot in Istanbul’s Sultangazi district belonged to its driver and that no evidence of the murder could be found on them.
The Turkish police have recently extended their search for Khashoggi’s body to Istanbul’s Belgrad Forest and the neighbouring province of Yalova as several consular vehicles were spotted in the areas.
Saudi Arabia has dismissed six officials and detained 18 people, all Saudi men, in connection with the killing.
Officials have pledged to reveal all the facts once the investigation is completed.
