Turkey takes statements of 38 Saudi Consulate employees

By Muhammed Enes Can, Basak Akbulut Yazar and Murat Kaya

ISTANBUL

Turkish investigators have recorded statements of 38 employees of the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, as part of a probe into killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, judicial sources said on Thursday.

Since Oct. 19, the investigators have recorded statements of 38 consulate employees as “witnesses”, with five more staffers yet to give their statements, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

A columnist for The Washington Post, Khashoggi was last seen on Oct. 2 when he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

According to the sources, the employees were asked whether anything out of the ordinary had occurred at the consulate on the day of the journalist’s disappearance and if they had seen the entry of Khashoggi or any of the 15-person group from Saudi Arabia who might be responsible for the journalist’s killing.

After days of denying any knowledge of his whereabouts, Saudi officials last week admitted that the journalist had been killed inside the consulate.

Separately, Saudi Crown Prince Mohamad bin Salman on Thursday chaired a meeting of a newly created committee tasked with restructuring the Saudi intelligence apparatus, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

Amid the ongoing furor over Khashoggi’s death, Saudi King Salman has sacked the deputy head of the Saudi intelligence agency -- and a top aide -- while also ordering the arrest of 18 suspects in the case.

Meanwhile, world leaders continue to urge the Saudi authorities to clarify the circumstances of the journalist’s killing.