"He became a victim of a planned murder": in Turkey, they told about the circumstances of the death of the journalist Hashukci

The murder of journalist Jamal Hashukji in the territory of the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia was planned in advance. This is stated in the statement of the Prosecutor General of Istanbul. Earlier, a similar statement was made by the Saudi Arabian Attorney General Saud Al-Mujib.

“Hashukji was the victim of a planned murder, he was strangled shortly after entering the consulate general of Saudi Arabia. After the murder, his body was dismembered and destroyed, ”Anadolu agency reports.

At the same time, the Turkish Ministry pointed out the lack of progress in negotiations with the Saudi prosecutor’s office. It is also noted that in Riyadh they did not answer questions regarding the presence of an accomplice in the territory of the Republic of Turkey, the plan of murder, as well as the location of the body.

"Turkey has again appealed to Saudi Arabia with the requirement to extradite those arrested for involvement in the killing of Hashukdzhi", - explained in the Istanbul prosecutor's office.

Meanwhile, as part of the investigation of the crime, Saudi Arabia invited the Turkish delegation to visit the kingdom, headed by the Prosecutor General of Istanbul, Irfan Fidan.

It is also reported that the Prosecutor General of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Saud al-Mujib returned to his homeland. He was in Turkey to conduct his own investigation. At the same time, information appeared in the media that he refused to share with the Turkish investigators all the information on the case. At the same time, the representative of Riyadh "persistently asked" to provide him with data from the phone Hashukji, who he gave to his bride Hatice Jengiz, before entering the building of the diplomatic mission.

On Tuesday, October 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the murder of a Saudi journalist was the result of a planned operation. He also noted that Ankara bears international responsibility for ascertaining the circumstances of the incident and that the Turkish side will investigate the incident on behalf of the world community.

According to him, the Turkish investigation continues to clarify the circumstances of the incident. In particular, experts are trying to find out why 15 people from Saudi Arabia arrived in Istanbul and why Hashukji’s body is still being hidden.

“We hope that the leadership of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the countries will give this business the same attention as we do. We cannot ignore this murder. We expect that all the perpetrators will be brought to justice, ”said Erdogan.

In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom Adel al-Jubeir assured that those responsible for the crime will certainly be punished in accordance with Saudi law. As part of the investigation, Saudi authorities detained 18 people, their identities were not revealed.

World community reaction

In his articles, Hashukji criticized not only Riyadh, in particular, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, but also the American authorities, including US President Donald Trump. In 2016, he moved to the United States, where he worked as a columnist for The Washington Post.

October 2 at 13:14 local time (coincides with Moscow time), he entered the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, but never left the building. For more than two weeks, Riyadh denied involvement in the disappearance of a 59-year-old man.

However, on October 19, Prosecutor General of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Saud al-Muadjib, said that Hashukji allegedly died during a quarrel and a fight with several people in the diplomatic mission.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump called an attempt to hide the death of Hashukji "the worst cover in history." According to him, "whoever came up with this idea, he now has big problems."

At the same time, the head of the White House, discussing possible retaliatory measures for the murder of a journalist, said he did not support the idea of ​​stopping the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia, since this would harm the United States. Recall that Riyadh is the largest buyer of American weapons. So, in May 2017, a deal worth $ 110 billion was concluded between the countries.

Meanwhile, the US State Department announced the possibility of introducing restrictive measures against those involved in the killing of Hashukji. In particular, it is planned to cancel visas for visiting the United States from 21 citizens of Saudi Arabia.

The British Prime Minister Theresa May also announced the ban on entry into the country to suspects of committing a crime. She called the “untrustworthy” explanation given by the Saudi side. The possibility of imposing sanctions against Riyadh was also mentioned by the official representative of the French government, Benjamin Grieve.

Meanwhile, the deputies of the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution stating the need for imposing an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia "across the EU." In addition, the deputies expressed doubt that the murder could have occurred without the knowledge of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

We note that according to French President Emmanuel Macron, the issue of arms supplies is in no way connected with the incident, but Paris will take all appropriate measures after the investigation has established all the facts of the crime.