Turkey has arrested two men on suspicion of espionage for the United Arab Emirates. The authorities investigated a connection between the two alleged agents for the murder of Saudi journalist Khashoggi, the state news agency Anadolu reported Friday. The men were therefore imprisoned on the orders of the Istanbul prosecutor.
The pro-government broadcaster TRT reported that the men had confessed to spying on Arabs for the United Arab Emirates in Turkey.
A senior official also told Reuters that the two men confessed to working for the United Arab Emirates. The suspects had been watched for six months and finally arrested on Monday, he said. One of the two men arrived in October 2018 a few days after the murder, the other some time later. "It is possible that they have tried to gather information about Arabs living in Turkey," said the representative, who wanted to remain anonymous.
The Turkish Ministry of Interior declined to comment and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not comment. The Istanbul police did not want to comment at first.
Khashoggi was killed on October 3 at the Saudi Consulate in Besiktas, Istanbul. The Turkish authorities blame a murder squad arrived from Saudi Arabia. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had repeatedly emphasized that "the highest circles" were involved. The Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is also suspected internationally of having commissioned or at least known about the crime.