Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to reveal the “naked truth” over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying that he will make a new statement on the case on Tuesday.
His comments on Sunday are likely to increase speculation that Ankara may be about to reveal some of the results of its investigations into the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, who disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul on October 2
On Saturday, after weeks of denying any involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance, Saudi Arabia said the 59-year-old, a prominent critic of the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), died in a fistfight at the consulate.
“I will make my statement about this issue on Tuesday at the party group meeting,” Erdogan said in a speech in Istanbul.
“We are looking for justice here and this will be revealed in all its naked truth, not through some ordinary steps but in all its naked truth,” Erdogan added.
Erdogan has remained largely silent on the case, although Turkey’s pro-government newspapers have released information detailing a 15-member team that purportedly arrived in Istanbul to confront Khashoggi at the consulate.
“Why 15 people came … why 18 people were detained … These things have to be told in detail,” Erdogan said.
Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor on Saturday said 18 people were arrested in connection with the incident.
Tuesday deadline
“This is the first time that such a senior official – the president – has put essentially a deadline as to this ongoing to and fro of different narrations and leaks,” said Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from Istanbul.
Hours after the Saudi admission on Saturday, Omer Celik, spokesperson for Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said Turkey was not “accusing anyone in advance, but we don’t accept anything to remain covered [up]”.
Meanwhile, Numan Kurtulmus, AK Party’s deputy head, promised Turkey “would not abstain from sharing with the world” evidence of Khashoggi’s death and will never “allow a cover-up” of what he called an “ugly, frightening, inhumane case”.
Turkish officials say the authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting Khashoggi’s killing inside the consulate.
Pro-government Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak, citing the audio, said his torturers cut off his fingers during an interrogation and later beheaded him.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
