Turkish media: Saudi ‘assassination squad’ killed journalist

A Turkish newspaper on Wednesday released photos and a surveillance video of a Saudi intelligence team blamed for the disappearance of a Saudi journalist who was often critical of Saudi policies and actions under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi national living in self-imposed exile in Washington, D.C., and a columnist for The Washington Post, disappeared last Tuesday after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 to obtain documents to marry his Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz. The Turkish pro-government Sabah newspaper called the 15-member team, who flew in and out of Istanbul on Oct. 2 in two private jets, an “assassination squad” sent to kill Khashoggi.

According to the video, eight members of the team, which Sabah said included intelligence officials and a forensics expert, checked into the Movenpick hotel located near the consulate at 4:51 a.m. At about 1:14 p.m., a time-stamped video showed Khashoggi entering the consulate. Two hours later, a black sedan and a black Mercedes van left the consulate’s premises for the residence of the Saudi consul general. The video captions said the two private jets left the country at 5:40 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Saudi Arabia has insisted that Khashoggi left the consulate through another exit shortly after his arrival, but officials have failed to provide any evidence for this claim.