One of the 15 Saudis who arrived in Turkey the same day Jamal Khashoggi disappeared has died in a “suspicious traffic accident” and the Saudi consul in Istanbul could be the “next execution,” according to Turkish media reports.
Mashal Saad al-Bostani, 31, a lieutenant in the Saudi Royal Air Forces, was among the 15-member “hit team” that landed in Istanbul in two private jets from Riyadh on Oct. 2 and headed to the Saudi consulate.
He died in a car crash in Riyadh, but few details have emerged, the newspaper Yeni Safak reported, adding that his role in the “murder” was not clear.
The Saudi consul, Mohammad al-Otaibi, who was heard on a video recording of Khashoggi being killed and dismembered in the consulate, could be the “next execution,” as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman “would do anything to get rid of the evidence,” the Hurriyet Daily News said Thursday.
Al-Otaibi was caught on audio tape during Khashoggi’s interrogations — during which the journalist’s fingers were cut off and he was beheaded — telling them to “do it somewhere else outside or I will be in trouble.”
He returned to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday before Turkish police searched his residence.
Surveillance footage showed consulate vehicles with diplomatic plates arrived at the consul’s home about two hours after Khashoggi, 60, walked into the consulate.
Saudi Arabia has called the allegations “baseless” and claimed the writer left unharmed later in the day.
Crime scene investigators concluded a second search of the consulate and the consul’s residence overnight Thursday.
President Trump, who earlier this week dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Saudi Arabia and Turkey, said he wanted to find out what happened before taking any action against Saudi Arabia, a key US ally in the Middle East.
Trump, who raised the possibility of “rogue killers,” is meeting with Pompeo later Thursday at the White House.
Khashoggi was living in the United States for the past year and writing for the Washington Post.
The Saudi-born writer fled the kingdom over fears that he would be arrested as the crown prince cracked down on voices critical of his government.
NY Post.
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