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Turkish forensic teams search Saudi consul’s home in Khashoggi case

It was the second such search of land considered to be sovereign Saudi soil after investigators spent hours in the consulate in Istanbul.

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Turkish crime scene investigators searched the home of the Saudi consul general in Istanbul on Wednesday after the disappearance of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, as a pro-government newspaper published a gruesome account of the journalist’s alleged slaying.

As Saudi Arabia’s green national flag flapped overhead, forensics teams entered the residence, about a mile from the consulate where Khashoggi vanished on October 2 while trying to pick up paperwork to get married.

It was the second such extraordinary search of land considered under international law to be sovereign Saudi soil after investigators spent hours in the consulate earlier this week.

A Turkish police officer searches inside the residence of the Saudi consul general
A Turkish police officer searches inside the residence of the Saudi consul general (Emrah Gurel/AP)

The searches and the leaks in Turkish media have ensured the world’s attention remains focused on what happened to Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who went into a self-imposed exile in the US over the rise of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

It also put further strains on the relationship between the kingdom, the world’s largest oil exporter, and its main security guarantor, the United States, as tensions with Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East remain high.

A Turkish police officer stands on the roof of the residence
A Turkish police officer stands on the roof of the residence (Emrah Gurel/AP)

“Sooner’s better than later for everyone,” Mr Pompeo said.

The search of the consul’s residence came 15 days after Khashoggi’s disappearance, and after police apparently thought they would be able to conduct the search on Tuesday.

Mevlut Cavusoglu with Mike Pompeo
Mevlut Cavusoglu with Mike Pompeo (Cem Ozdel/Turkish Foreign Ministry/AP)

Crime-scene technicians wore white overalls, gloves and shoe covers entering the residence.

It was not immediately clear what investigators hoped to find there, although surveillance footage showed diplomatic cars moving between the consulate and the residence nearly two hours after Khashoggi walked into the diplomatic post.

Turkey’s private DHA news agency, without citing a source, said police wanted to inspect a “water well” in the garden of the residence.

A high-level Turkish official previously told The Associated Press that police found “certain evidence” of Khashoggi’s killing at the consulate, without elaborating.

The report by the newspaper Yeni Safak cited what it described as an audio recording of Khashoggi’s killing.

It described the recording as offering evidence that a Saudi team immediately accosted the 60-year-old journalist after he entered the consulate.

CCTV video of a man believed to be Jamal Khashoggi entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul
CCTV video of a man believed to be Jamal Khashoggi entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul (CCTV/Hurriyet/AP)

One of the Saudis reportedly replied: “Shut up if you want to live when you return to (Saudi) Arabia.”

Security services in Turkey have used pro-government media to leak details of Khashoggi’s case, adding to the pressure on the kingdom.

US President Donald Trump, who initially came out hard on the Saudis over the disappearance but since has backed off, said Wednesday that the US wanted Turkey to turn over any audio or video recording it had of Khashoggi’s alleged killing “if it exists”.

Al-Otaibi left Turkey on Tuesday, Turkish state media reported.

Mr Pompeo, wrapping up a trip to Saudi Arabia and Turkey to discuss the crisis over the missing journalist, made a point of stressing areas where the kingdom and America cooperate.

However Mr Pompeo said there were clear lines that America would not stand to see crossed.

“If a country engages in activity that is unlawful it’s unacceptable,” he said. “No one is going to defend activity of that nature. We just need to simply say what happened.”

Prominent US newspapers have reported, citing anonymous sources, that Saudi officials may soon acknowledge Khashoggi’s killing at the consulate but blame it on a botched intelligence operation.

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