By M M Desk
The dissent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi who disappeared on Tuesday during a visit to his nation’s consulate in Istanbul was killed on the premises and his body removed from the building, reported media .
Khashogi was an out spoken critic of Saudi regime has not been seen since entering the Saudi consulate building in Istanbul on Tuesday 2 October, where he was to receive an official document for the his marriage with a Turkish woman.
The news was first reported by Reuters. Turkey is said to be preparing evidence to release publicly on Sunday or Monday concerning the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Mr Khashoggi, a prominent Arab journalist and regular columnist for The Washington Post.
The reports of Mr Khashoggi’s possible murder at the hands of Saudi authorities came just hours after Riyadh announced it would allow Turkish authorities to inspect the consulate facility, in the upmarket Levent district on the European side of Istanbul.
“One Turkish official told Reuters: “The initial assessment of the Turkish police is that Mr Khashoggi has been killed at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul. We believe that the murder was premeditated and the body was subsequently moved out of the consulate.”
Saudi Arabia’s consul-general told the news agency on Saturday his country was helping search for Mr Khashoggi, and dismissed talk of his possible abduction.
Mr Khashoggi has lived in self-imposed exile in Washington for the past year fearing retribution for his critical views on Saudi policies.
Since then, Turkish and Saudi officials have offered conflicting accounts of his disappearance, with Ankara saying there was no evidence that he had left the diplomatic mission and Riyadh saying he exited the premises the same day.