Khashoggi's fiancee says journalist was 'worried' before entering Saudi consulate

The fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Hatice Cengiz, on Friday said that the journalist was "worried" before he entered the Consulate of Saudi Arabia on Oct. 2.

She told Turkish broadcaster Habertürk that Khashoggi had mentioned there could be some issues with him going to the consulate.

He assumed Saudi authorities would not interrogate or arrest him in Turkey, although he was concerned tensions would arise when he visited the consulate in Istanbul, added Cengiz.

She said that she did not accept U.S. President Donald Trump's invitation to visit the White House because she thought it was aimed at influencing public opinion in his favour.

She added that she would not go to the White House until the United States was sincere in its efforts to solve Khashoggi's killing, demanding that all those responsible be tried and punished.

Khashoggi had said he was treated well during his first visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Sept. 28, his fiancee Cengiz said.

She added that Khashoggi did not tell her to call anyone in case anything happened to him during his second visit on Oct. 2 but that he had previously told her to contact Yasin Aktay, an adviser of Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, if he faced any trouble in Turkey.

Khashoggi was a U.S. resident who wrote columns for the Washington Post and a critic of the Saudi government, calling for reforms.

Turkish officials suspect Saudi security agents killed Khashoggi, 59, inside the consulate and dismembered his body. Turkish sources say authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting the murder.

Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor said on Thursday the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was premeditated, reversing a previous official statement that it happened accidentally during a tussle in the consulate.