Khashoggi’s Murder: Turkey Files Arrest Warrants for MBS’ Allies

Local Editor

A Turkish prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for two Saudi nationals close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday that there is “strong suspicion” that Ahmed al-Asiri and Saud al-Qahtani were “among the planners” of Khashoggi’s assassination inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in early October.

A Turkish official told Reuters that the fresh move “reflects the view that the Saudi authorities won’t take formal action against those individuals.”

He also stressed that the wording of the warrants appeared to indicate that more arrests could be sought.

Major General Assiri, the deputy chief of Saudi Arabia’s intelligence, and Qahtani, in charge of media affairs at the royal court, were among five high-ranking Saudi officials who were dismissed last month over the murder case.

According to Khashoggi’s friends, Qahtani, who is believed to have overseen the journalist’s murder, had previously tried to persuade him to return to the kingdom, even offering him the prospect of a government job.

The Washington Post columnist, however, had declined the offer amid worries that it could be a trap.

In a tweet in August 2017, Qahtani had said, “I don’t do anything from my own head without an order. I am an employee and executer to my king and my crown.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team