Turkish prosecutor: Khashoggi strangled, dismembered

A Turkish public prosecutor on Wednesday said Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was strangled and dismembered soon after he walked into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in a planned killing. “In accordance with plans made in advance, the victim, Jamal Khashoggi, was choked to death immediately after entering the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul on October 2,” Turkish prosecutor Irfan Fidan said in the statement. “The victim’s body was dismembered and destroyed following his death by suffocation—again, in line with advance plans.”

Turkey’s latest statement continues to erode the shifting Saudi explanation surrounding Khashoggi’s death. Saudi Arabian prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb departed Istanbul Wednesday to go back to the Saudi capital of Ridayh. Al-Mojeb traveled to Turkey on Monday as part of a cooperative Turkey-Saudi investigation into what happened after Saudi officials last week admitted Khashoggi's killing was premeditated, but he left without much apparent progress.

Turkey has asked the Saudis to reveal the location of Khashoggi’s body, but so far officials have not offered any answers. Turkey also has asked to extradite 18 suspects involved with the killing and have them tried in Turkish courts.