MEE: MBS Guard Transported Part of Khashoggi’s Body to Riyadh

Local Editor

Turkish authorities believe that one of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman [MBS]'s bodyguards transferred part of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's body to Riyadh.

Maher Abdulaziz Mutrib, an intelligence officer who accompanied MBS on trips abroad, is thought to have carried the body parts in a large bag and left Turkey on a private jet that departed at 18:20 local time on October 2, the day of Khashoggi's death, sources told Middle East Eye.

Mutrib was identified as one of the 15-member Saudi team that is believed to have been involved in the killing of the Saudi journalist.

His luggage was not checked as he passed through the VIP lounge at Ataturk Airport and neither was the plane which took off before the alarm was raised. The sources said a second plane was inspected thoroughly and nothing was found.

Mutrib, who has a diplomatic passport, was reportedly in a hurry.

Relatively, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday Turkey will reveal the "naked truth" about the dissident journalist's killing, adding he will make a full new statement on the case when he addresses parliament on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia last week admitted that Khashoggi had died in the consulate after "discussions" turned into "a brawl and a fist fight." It followed Saudi Arabia's denial for two weeks of its role in his disappearance.

An hour later, another Saudi official attributed the death to a chokehold.

Khashoggi was a Washington Post columnist and lived in the US, having fled Saudi Arabia last September.

Saudi Arabia claims it does not know the body's whereabouts, with anonymous officials saying it was rolled into a carpet and given to a "local collaborator" to be disposed of, a claim dismissed by Turkish sources.

A Turkish source on Sunday said Khashoggi's body was cut into 15 pieces and that the squad "did not roll anything up in anything."

Salah Muhammad al-Tubaigy, who has been identified as the head of forensic evidence in the Saudi general security department, reportedly cut Khashoggi’s body with a bone saw while he was still alive.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team