Turkish, Saudi officials at consulate over Khashoggi

By Sefa Mutlu

ISTANBUL

Turkish and Saudi officials arrived on Monday at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul after the start of a joint probe of the case of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

An acting chief prosecutor and a public prosecutor were assigned by Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to carry out the probe at the consulate.

Also, specialists from branch and crime scene investigation units of Istanbul Provincial Security Directorate are included to the team.

On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz spoke on the phone about Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist, who has been missing since Oct. 2 when he entered the consulate.

The phone conversation, according to presidential sources, was on forming a joint working group to probe Khashoggi’s disappearance.

Also on Oct. 2, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the building while Khashoggi was also inside, Turkish police sources said. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.

Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of what happened to Khashoggi, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K. -- are pressing for the mystery to be cleared up as soon as possible.