New report: Khashoggi died after a brawl

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Two close aides of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were relieved of their duties

Saudi Arabia’s government acknowledged that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in Istanbul, saying he died after “a brawl and a fist fight.”

In a statement carried by Saudi state television early Saturday, the government’s attorney general said 18 Saudi citizens have been detained pending the final results of a continuing investigation into the death of Mr. Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist and government critic.

“Discussions between citizen Jamal Khashoggi and those who met him while he was in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul led to a brawl and a fist fight, which led to his death,” the statement said, citing the preliminary findings of the investigation.

Mr. Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. He was accompanied to the entrance by his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who first raised the alarm over his disappearance.

Saudi Mag. Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri was relieved of his duties in the wake of the preliminary findings of the kingdom’s probe into Jamal Khashoggi’s death.

In a royal order carried by state-run media, King Salman, the Saudi monarch, announced that two senior government officials—both close aides of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—have been relieved of their posts. They are Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, the deputy chief of Saudi Arabia’s intelligence, and Saud al-Qahtani, who was in charge of media affairs at the royal court.

King Salman also ordered the formation of a new committee responsible for overhauling the country’s intelligence agency to be led by Prince Mohammed. That was a clear indication that the crown prince won’t face immediate repercussions for Mr. Khashoggi’s death.

Gen. Assiri was directly involved in the operation targeting Mr. Khashoggi, according to people familiar with the matter. Three other senior intelligence officers were also dismissed from their posts.

It isn’t known what role, if any, Mr. Qahtani had in the incident. As media adviser, Mr. Qahtani had tightened controls on the domestic press and stepped up efforts to intimidate and silence government critics.

Since Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance, Turkish authorities have disclosed evidence implicating Saudi officials. They say Mr. Khashoggi was drugged, killed and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate by a team of operatives dispatched from Riyadh and linked to the security establishment.

The announcement came hours after Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Salman had a telephone call during which they exchanged information on their separate investigations of the Khashoggi case, according to Turkish state-owned news agency Anadolu. It was the second time the two men discussed the case on the phone, following an earlier conversation on Oct. 14.

The Saudi government initially denied any role in the journalist’s disappearance, saying Mr. Khashoggi left the consulate shortly after he entered it to collect documents related to his divorce. But it later launched its own, internal probe into the incident to determine who, if anyone, should be held accountable.

The mystery surrounding Mr. Khashoggi’s fate has brought intense scrutiny upon the Saudi monarchy, precipitating the most acute diplomatic crisis for the kingdom in years. Saudi Arabia most important ally, the U.S., has been forced to step in to address the situation, with President Trump vowing “severe punishment” should the U.S. conclude the Saudi government was implicated in the journalist’s suspected murder.

During a trip to Riyadh this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed for answers, and agreed to give Riyadh a few more days to complete its probe into what happened to Mr. Khashoggi before deciding how to respond.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) reacted to the findings out of Riyadh by tweeting, “To say that I am skeptical of the new Saudi narrative about Mr. Khashoggi is an understatement.”

The White House said on Friday night, “We are saddened to hear confirmation of Mr. Khashoggi’s death, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family, fiancée, and friends.”

The statement from President Trump’s press secretary, Sarah Sanders, also said the U.S. “acknowledges” the Saudi investigation into Mr. Khashoggi’s death, adding “we will continue to closely follow the international investigations into this tragic incident.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-a...ath-1539987519

[Jack]

What has the Saudi Ambassador to Turkey have to say?
Will the body be returned to the family?
Why did it take so long to confirm a 'fist fight'?

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Turks are playing games. Making statements, then retracting. There's an audio and transcript, then say there is none. They want to toss the Saudis under the bus, then say they want to pull back.

[christiefan915]

A brawl, sure. And the moon is made out of green cheese.

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Well obviously there was a fight. Turks aren't sounding squeaky clean right now also.
We've got 4 months to comply with a Magnitsky enactment.
Interested in what Turkey and S.A. have to say by Monday.
Khashoggi was completely at odds with the new modern, more lenient MBS way of doing things in S.A.
There just has to be a determination on if MBS gave or OK'd the order. We'll see.

Here's a treasure trove of articles covering a lot............

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/...133542286.html

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Report: 'King Salman asserts authority, checks son's power'

Citing five sources close to the Saudi royal family, Reuters news agency reported that King Salman, long absent from the day to day running of the kingdom, has felt compelled to intervene as the Khashoggi crisis deepened.

Since outmanoeuvring his rivals to become Saudi Arabia's de-facto leader in 2017, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's portfolio of tasks had slowly expanded to include issues such as economic diversification, diplomacy and defence.

This came to a sharp halt with the disappearance of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The report notes that the king, initially unaware of the Khashoggi crisis, eventually sent his most trusted aide, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, governor of Mecca, to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 11.

"The selection of Khaled, a senior royal with high status, is telling as he is the king's personal adviser, his right hand man and has very strong ties and a friendship with Erdogan," Reuters quoted a Saudi source with links to government circles as saying.

One of the sources told Reuters that the king's unawareness was partly "because [Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] MBS aides had been directing the king to glowing news about the country on Saudi TV channels".

"Even if MBS wanted to keep this away from the king he couldn't because the story about Khashoggi's disappearance was on all the Arab and Saudi TV channels watched by the king," another unnamed source said.

"The King started asking aides and MBS about it. MBS had to tell him and asked him to intervene when Khashoggi's case became a global crisis."

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British Foreign Secretary: UK to take 'considered' response to results of Khashoggi probe

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the UK government will take a "considered" response to any results that emerge from the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Khashoggi.
How dangerous is it to be a journalist in the Arab world?

He also warned that allegations the Saudi writer and critic was brutally murdered would be totally unacceptable if proven to be true.

"Part of our reaction will depend on the Saudi reaction, and whether we sense that they are taking it as seriously as we are taking it. But this is a very, very serious matter," Hunt told the BBC.

"Our relationship with Saudi is a strategic relationship as well. Our response will be considered ... [but] in the end, if these stories are true, we have to be absolutely clear, it would not be consistent with our values."

[dukkha]

^ thanks for the updates!

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^ thanks for the updates!

No problem.
Been wait'n to see a response from the King. Glad something finally appeared.

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So, did the Turks lie or was it the ever consistent Fake News Media who got it wrong???

Turkish foreign minister denies sharing audio recordings with Washington

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has dismissed reports Ankara shared audio recordings documenting the alleged murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi with the United States, according to Reuters news agency.

On Thursday, reports suggested Turkish officials had provided US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with a recording indicating Khashoggi was killed by Saudi operatives after entering the Kingdom's consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.

Cavusoglu also said Turkey has evidence and information obtained from its ongoing investigation into Khashoggi's disappearance on October 2, and will share the results of the probe "transparently" with the world.

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How does Magnitsky Act apply in Khashoggi's case? What happens next?

On Wednesday, ranking members and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee sent a letter to President Trump triggering the Magnitsky Act and an investigation into whether rights violations occurred relating to Khashoggi's disappearance.

Upon receipt of the letter, the White House has 120 days to report back to the committee with a decision and determine whether it will impose sanctions on the foreign individual(s) involved in the "gross violation of internationally recognized human rights against an individual exercising freedom of expression".

Human rights violations would also include "torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges and trial, causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, and other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of person," the Committee wrote in its letter on Wednesday.

"Therefore, we request that you make a determination on the imposition of sanctions pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act with respect to any foreign person responsible for such a violation related to Mr. Khashoggi," Senators said. "Our expectation is that in making your determination you will consider any relevant information, including with respect to the highest ranking officials in the Government of Saudi Arabia."

The letter was sent by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Bob Corker (R-TN), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.

The letter was also signed by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), John Barrasso (R-WY), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Ed Markey (D-MA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Todd Young (R-IN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Rob Portman (R-OH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chris Coons (D-Del), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and Tom Udall (D-NM).

What will it mean for US-Saudi relations?

The enactment of the Magnitsky Act has been seen as a major blow for US-Saudi relations by many in Washington.

Although Trump told reporters on Thursday that he saw no reason to block Saudi Arabia's investments in the US, an impending investigation into Khashoggi's disappearance could potentially lead to economic and political sanctions on individuals in the oil-rich Gulf state.

James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, DC, said Khashoggi's case has led to "a tremendous shift in public opinion", towards Saudi Arabia, "not only among [Americans] but also in the Senate".

Whether or not the president implements sanctions, he said, Khashoggi's case would continue to haunt Saudi Arabia.

"Not putting sanctions on individuals will only poison the well [for] future arms sales and future exemptions to sanctions," he said. "Clearly in the Senate, where Congress can act without the president, there will be repercussions.

"This is something that has been building. This has got to be a concern for [Saudi Arabia]; having a good relationship with President Trump does not translate to getting a free pass from the Senate."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/...184312416.html

[Legion]

It's hilarious to see liberals so eager to swallow anything the Turks say.

Just a couple of months ago they were calling Erdogan a monster and his regime a dictatorship, weren't they?

[Nordberg]

It was an assassination. Khashoggi went in to get paperwork to get married. The Saudis flew in 15 assassins and a guy with a bone saw to provide paperwork? I don't think so. He wasn't getting out alive. I am sure we all know it does not take over 2 weeks to discover what happened. Trump probably knew about it long before it happened. He probably had to give his approval. Saudius just bought a couple apartments.

[Cypress]

A brawl, sure. And the moon is made out of green cheese.

Nobody dies in a "fist fight". It strains credulity.

You know what amazes me? The Saudis had almost a week to come up with a story, and this pathetic lie is the best they could come up with?

[domer76]

It's hilarious to see liberals so eager to swallow anything the Turks say.

Just a couple of months ago they were calling Erdogan a monster and his regime a dictatorship, weren't they?

And you’re buying that bullshit?

HAHAHAHAHA