‘There are claims that there is a video of the moments Jamal Khashoggi was killed,’ says Yeni Şafak colomnist Kemal Öztürk
Video footage of the moments missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the consulate exists, according to Yeni Şafak daily’s colomnist Kemal Öztürk.
“The Saudi consulate says they have no [video] recordings. The Saudi consulate says that they don’t have any footage. But we [Turkey] have our own cameras. There are claims that there is a video of the moments Jamal Khashoggi was killed. I haven’t seen it, nobody has,” Öztürk said during a TVNET program.
“Every embassy and consulate has security officials stationed in front. Some of them are intelligence. The embassies of high-risk states are under surveillance. The embassy or consulate has its own security system, but so does Turkey, because its safety has been entrusted to Turkey and so it is responsible if anything happens. Turkey protects them diligently. Both physical and technical protection. There's a record of entry and exit,” he added.
Khashoggi, journalist and columnist for The Washington Post who has lived in self-imposed exile in Washington for the past year fearing retribution for his criticism of Saudi policies, has been missing since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Turkish police investigating the case said Saturday that 15 Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and entered the consulate while Khashoggi was inside.
Turkish sources also said that Turkish authorities believe Khashoggi was deliberately killed inside the consulate, a view echoed by one of Erdogan's advisers, Yasin Aktay, who is a friend of the Saudi journalist.
Speaking to journalists in front of the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul on Sunday, Turan Kışlakçı -- head of the Turkish-Arab Media Association (TAM) -- said they were informed that Jamal Khashoggi was “brutally murdered.”
“After the statements of unnamed security forces and Turan Kışlakçı, whoever ordered the execution must prove that Jamal Khashoggi was killed. If you remember, the same happened in Syria and the photos were published by Anadolu Agency. They stamped every Syrian opposition that they killed and gave them a number and photographed them. I was so surprised by this; you killed them, why did you number them?” Öztürk said.
