Thread: Turkey says journalist was murdered in Saudi consulate

Saudi crown prince 'ordered, monitored' killing of Khashoggi, Corker says

Republican senators reacted with outrage Tuesday after leaving a classified briefing about the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, promising swift action to confront both Saudi Arabia and the White House's timid response to the killing.

GOP Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are leading the charge to offer new legislation that would rebuke Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as potentially limit US involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, saying their push was bolstered by the classified briefing, which detailed intelligence linking the Saudi leader to the murder of the US-based journalist.

"There's not a smoking gun, there's a smoking saw," said Graham, referring to reports that the Saudi team had included a forensic expert who arrived with equipment to dismember Khashoggi's body.

Referring to the prince, who is known by his initials, Graham said, "You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intrinsically involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi."

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'Deep state' concerns

The CIA, meanwhile, is facing growing pressure to brief the full Senate, since Tuesday's briefing comprised only roughly a dozen senators from the party leadership and who sit on key committees.

Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, railed at the "deep state" for limiting the information flow to senators, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded the full Senate be briefed as soon as possible.

"While I will not discuss the content of the Haspel briefing, it reinforced the need for a strong response to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi," the New York Democrat said. "CIA Director Haspel should brief the full Senate without delay."

Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said in a statement that "every Senator should hear what I heard this afternoon. CIA Director Haspel must brief the full Senate immediately."

And Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican who was not part of the briefing, said that "by the director choosing to meet with some, but not others, congratulations to her, she has pissed off everybody."

Read more
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/04/p...ggi/index.html

They all know who dunnit but it's not good form for top shelf leaders to say so, esp if there's any danger of it returning to bite their bums.

But at the end of the day, why not to say samothing like others said: I will never apologize (or being held accountable), no matter what the facts are...

BTW, anybody from the family came to the funeral? (the two families have much to be thankful to each other, haven't they?)

Originally Posted by Dragonfly

In a blistering attack, Senator Lindsey Graham said he had "high confidence" Mohammed bin Salman was complicit in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

The South Carolina Republican described the Saudi royal as "a wrecking ball", "crazy" and "dangerous".

pot meet kettle...

Turns out Kushner's been counseling the prince.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-jared-kushner

Another good example that the quality always prevails quantity. (mind the millions dead in Yemen...)

A severe punishment for the murder, that will teach them:

US approved transfer of nuclear expertise to Riyadh after Khashoggi murder
Approvals allow US companies to discuss and work on nuclear-related projects in the Gulf kingdom

The Donald Trump administration issued two authorisations for the transfer of technical "nuclear expertise" to Saudi Arabia after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi late last year, US Senator Tim Kaine has revealed.

Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, where Khashoggi resided, called the decision "shocking" - as it came amid global outrage over the Saudi journalist's gruesome murder on 2 October.

The two approvals were issued on 18 October - only 16 days after Khashoggi was killed - and on 18 February, respectively.

Known as "Part 810 authorisations", they allow US companies to discuss and work on nuclear-related projects in the Gulf kingdom.

"I have serious questions about whether any decisions on nuclear transfers were made based on the Trump family's financial ties rather than the interests of the American people," Kaine said in a statement on Tuesday.

Read more
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/u...ashoggi-murder

"I have serious questions about whether any decisions on nuclear transfers were made based on the Trump family's financial ties rather than the interests of the American people," Kaine said in a statement on Tuesday.r

Would there be a shadow of a doubt about 'the Trump family's' motivations at this point?

What a despicable shit show.

Originally Posted by Klondyke

"I have serious questions about whether any decisions on nuclear transfers were made based on the Trump family's financial ties rather than the interests of the American people,"

I still have questions about whose interests were served in the transfer of missile and satellite technologies to China during the regimes of Raygun, CIA Bush and Slick Willy Clinton. Just like old times really.

Originally Posted by SKkin

about whose interests were served in the transfer of missile and satellite technologies to China

not yours and not the majority of the planet

Originally Posted by Norton

Nuclear power plants spread around the US provide about 20% of US energy. Don't see anything odd US companies would be allowed to provide tech services to the Saudis.

Most all the Saudi military equipment is US manufactured. Saw recently US company will be selling LNG to SA.

Promoting the sale of products and services of a nations companies is what all governments do. Nothing new here.

If they don't sell nuclear technology to the Saudis, Putin will.

And we all know how that could turn out.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

If they don't sell nuclear technology to the Saudis, Putin will.

And we all know how that could turn out.

US sanctions on Saudi Arabia?

Originally Posted by Neverna

US sanctions on Saudi Arabia?

Something like "we are not interested in your oil, you can keep it to yourself"..?

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

And we all know how that could turn out.

Harry knows how...

Not everyone is as impressed by the established supplier as harry seems to be.

Gangster? But he's our gangster...

'Credible evidence' Saudi crown prince behind Jamal Khashoggi murder, UN says

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/credible...G_WLYRab6xc5J8

I'm sure the Saudis are working on a "trial" that will last until the world outrage dies by the looks of things it wont be much longer.

'Time to act': UN expert urges international Khashoggi probe

Agnes Callamard says Saudi trial of suspects in Khashoggi killing not being carried out in 'good faith'.

Geneva, Switzerland - A United Nations rights expert has criticised UN "paralysis" for preventing accountability for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, accusing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of failing to act.

In a harsh statement on Wednesday, Agnes Callamard, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, said ignoring the targeted killing will put the protection of free speech at risk.

"The time to act is now," she said, reiterating her appeal for an international criminal investigation.

Callamard criticised the UN while presenting her report into the killing of Khashoggi, who was murdered by a team of Saudi agents in the country's consulate in Istanbul, to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Addressing the media on Tuesday she had expressed her frustration at the UN, saying "there was a role for the UN to investigate this. The silence of this intergovernmental body and the lack of measures were a disservice to the UN and to the world."

Secretary-General Guterres gave a chilly response to Callamard's appeal.

"The only way to effectively pursue such an investigation is through a Security Council's resolution under the appropriate measures," said Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday, adding that the secretary-general was "not hiding behind any protocol".

Callamard on Wednesday told reporters she was "disappointed" by the response, adding that "it is in his power to ... to establish this panel of [criminal] experts."

"I don't believe you need a member state official demand," she added. "This being said, I certainly call on member states to proceed with that official demarche so that the secretary-general will not be able to just create more firewalls between him and his responsibilities to take action."

Callamard is an independent expert who does not speak for the UN, but reports her findings to it.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/...161809811.html

^ Perhaps one day someone will write a book titled UN Vanquished explaining in it how the United States has treated the United Nations as an extension of its own foreign policy.

Caution: Only for strong stomachs:

Saudi hit squad’s gruesome conversations during Khashoggi's murder revealed

Audio recordings of the horrifying conversations between the 15-man Saudi hit squad and their victim, journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has been revealed to the public for the first time by the Turkish daily Sabah.

The conversations recorded prior to and during the Oct. 2, 2018 murder of the dissident journalist at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate were obtained by Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) right after the gruesome incident, and were shared with related Turkish authorities carrying out an investigation into the incident, as well as with international officials and institutions.

One of the recordings of the conversations between Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, the number two man of the hit squad, and Dr. Salah Muhammed Al-Tubaigy, the head of Forensic Evidence at the Saudi General Security Department who was in charge of dismembering Khashoggi's body, are stamped 1:02 p.m., just 12 minutes before Khashoggi arrived at the consulate building to complete marriage procedures.

Saudi hit squad’s gruesome conversations during Khashoggi's murder revealed
Mutreb is seen at the entrance of the Saudi Consulate General located in Istanbul's Beşiktaş district.

The conversation between the two, who are among the five suspects facing death penalty in Saudi Arabia over the murder, is as follows:

Mutreb: Is it possible to put the body in a bag?

Al-Tubaigy: No. Too heavy, very tall too. Actually, I've always worked on cadavers. I know how to cut very well. I have never worked on a warm body though, but I'll also manage that easily. I normally put on my earphones and listen to music when I cut cadavers. In the meantime, I sip on my coffee and smoke. After I dismember it, you will wrap the parts into plastic bags, put them in suitcases and take them out (of the building).

Al-Tubaigy is also heard saying: "My superior at the Forensic Evidence does not know what I'm doing. There is no one to protect me," in efforts to ask for protection in the vertical hierarchy going right up to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the responsibility of dismembering Khashoggi's body.

Saudi hit squad’s gruesome conversations during Khashoggi's murder revealed
The photo on the left shows al-Tubaigy waiting at a passport control desk in Istanbul's Atatürk Airport upon arrival.

At the end of the conversation, Mutreb asks whether the "animal to be sacrificed" has arrived. At 1:14 p.m., an unidentified member of the hit squad says "[he] is here."

Khashoggi enters the Saudi consulate

According to the released recordings, Khashoggi is greeted by a familiar face or someone he knows, gauging from his reaction. He is told that the Consul General Mohammad al-Otaibi is also present in the building. First, he is politely invited into the consul's office on the second floor. When he starts to get suspicious, he is pulled by the arm. He then says;"Let me go, what do you think you're doing?"

As soon as Khashoggi enters the room, Mutreb says: "Please sit. We have to take you back [to Riyadh]. There is an order from Interpol. Interpol demanded you be returned. We are here to take you." To which Khashoggi responds: "There are no lawsuits against me. My fiancée is waiting outside for me."

During these conversations, another unidentified hit squad member, probably portraying the "bad cop" during the interrogation, repeatedly tells Khashoggi to "cut it short."

At 1:22 p.m. Mutreb asks Khashoggi whether he has any mobile phones on him. Khashoggi responds with "I have two mobile phones." Mutreb asks "which brand" and Khashoggi says "iPhone."

Following these conversations in the last 10 minutes leading up to Khashoggi's death, the dialogue goes:

Mutreb: Leave a message for your son.

Khashoggi: What should I tell my son?

Mutreb: You will write a message, let's rehearse; show it to us.

Khashoggi: What should I say, 'see you soon'?

Unidentified hit squad member: Cut it short.

Mutreb: You will write something like 'I'm in Istanbul. Don't worry if you cannot reach me.'

Khashoggi: I shouldn't say kidnapped.

Unidentified hit squad member: Take your jacket off.

Khashoggi: How can such a thing take place at a consulate? I'm not writing anything.

Unidentified hit squad member: Cut it short.

Khashoggi: I'm not writing anything.

Mutreb: Write it, Mr. Jamal. Hurry up. Help us so we can help you, because in the end we will take you back to Saudi Arabia and if you don't help us you know what will happen eventually.

Khashoggi: There is a towel here. Will you have me drugged?

Al-Tubaigy: We will put you to sleep.

After he was drugged, Khashoggi says "do not keep my mouth closed" before losing his consciousness.

"I have asthma. Do not do it, you will suffocate me." These were Khashoggi's last words.

His killers had already put on a plastic bag over his head, and he would eventually be suffocated to death. Scuffling and struggling then dominate the recordings, with occasional questions and directives from the hit squad heard in between.

"Is he asleep?" "He's raising his head," "keep pushing," "push it well."

Before Khashoggi gives his final breath, scuffling and suffocation sounds continue for a while. Then the postmortem phase begins, which includes sounds of dismembering Khashoggi's body.

At exactly 1:39 p.m., the sound of an autopsy saw is heard. This savage procedure lasts half an hour.

According to the book "Diplomatic Atrocity: The dark secrets of the Khashoggi murder," penned by Sabah writers Abdurrahman Şimşek, Nazif Karaman and Ferhat Ünlü, Khashoggi's body was dismembered by al-Tubaigy and taken out of the building in five suitcases. The whereabouts of Khashoggi's body remains unknown.

Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by a group of Saudi operatives in the country's consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018. Initially denying and later downplaying the incident as an accidental killing in a fistfight, Riyadh finally admitted almost three weeks after the disappearance that Khashoggi was murdered in a premeditated fashion but denied any involvement of the royal family.

The incident was blamed on lower-level officials, including five who are now facing the death penalty over their involvement. A Saudi public prosecutor said in late March that they would seek the death penalty for five suspects among the 21 involved in the case. Ankara has said the statement is not satisfactory and demanded genuine cooperation from Riyadh.

Khashoggi's body has not been recovered and the kingdom has remained silent on its whereabouts. The U.N. human rights expert who conducted an independent probe into the murder of Khashoggi, Agnes Callamard, said in a report last month that the state of Saudi Arabia was responsible for the murder. The report also found "credible evidence" that linked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the killing of Khashoggi. The rapporteur noted she had received no cooperation from Riyadh and minimal help from the U.S.

Records of premeditated murder revealed

The recordings, which took place before the murder between Sept. 28 and Oct. 2, 2018, reveal in detail the plans and preparations made between the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and the Riyadh administration.

On Sept. 28, when Khashoggi came to the Saudi Consulate for papers to marry his fiancee Hatice Cengiz, Ahmed Abdullah al-Muzaini, who worked as Saudi Arabia's intelligence station chief at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, informed Riyadh with an emergency code that Khashoggi had arrived at the consulate. Khashoggi's return to the consulate on Oct. 2 was also informed to Riyadh.

On the same day at 7:08 p.m., Saudi Consul Otaibi held a phone call with an official from the office of Saud al-Qahtani, a close aide of Crown Prince Mohammed.

During the conversation, the murder of Khashoggi was called "a private matter" and "a top-secret mission." The official told the Saudi consul that "the head of state security called me. They have a mission. They want one of your officials from your delegation to deal with a private matter. They want someone from your protocol… for a private, top-secret mission. He can even get permission if necessary."

These statements are proof that the murder of Khashoggi was not done without the consent of the Saudi crown prince.

At 8 p.m., Muzaini received a phone call from Saudi Consul Otaibi, who told him that "there will be a special training course in Riyadh."

"I got a call from Riyadh. They asked me to find an officer who previously worked in the protocol. But, this is top secret… there will be training… almost for five days. This is top secret. I want a reliable, nationalist intelligence officer."

During the rest of the conversation, the two discussed flight alternatives from Istanbul to Riyadh. Muzaini asked if the training would begin the day before or not, to which the Saudi consul replied to him saying, "Yes, they say it will."

One day before the murder, on Oct. 1, 2018 at 9:48 p.m., a conversation between two unidentified Saudi officials went as follows: "A commission from Saudi Arabia will come tomorrow, there is something they will do at the consulate in my office," one said.

The other asked if "it" will happen on the first floor to which he got a reply saying, "No, right next to my office. It will last for two to three days, and they have no personnel in charge of the office above."

"Ok, I will be at the consulate at 8 a.m.," the other said. "The name of the man who will come to the consulate is Mr. Maha, [a nickname] and they will pass through permission from the head of the commission."

https://www.dailysabah.com/investiga...urder-revealed