Nine days after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Turkey’s Istanbul on Oct. 2, a chemist and toxicologist were sent to Istanbul to get rid of the body and eliminate evidence, Turkish daily Sabah reported on Monday.
Chemist Ahmed Abdulaziz Aljanobi and toxicology expert Khaled Yahya Al Zahrani were part of an 11-member delegation from Saudi Arabia that that entered Turkey via Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport on Oct. 11 as part of the joint investigation into the disappearance of Khashoggi.
According to intelligence information received by Sabah, Aljanobi and Zahrani visited the Saudi consulate from Oct. 12 until Oct. 17 as a part of the so-called investigation team, and also worked to eliminate evidence at the residence of the Saudi consul-general. The 11-member team left Turkey on Oct. 20.
It is believed that the duo engaged first in search activities before wiping the crime scenes clean.
Turkey was only granted permission to search the Saudi consulate on Oct. 15, which it carried out for two consecutive days, and the search of the residence was conducted on Oct. 17. Sabah reported that the chemist and toxicology expert carried out their work at the consulate and residence until Oct. 17.
“They [the chemist and toxicology expert] have the ability to remove any toxic or acid substances. An attempt was possibly made to render the victim unrecognizable by pouring acid onto his corpse. It may have been intended to clean the body fluids that could have splattered around. Of course, this is all hypothetical,” said Dr. Şevki Sözen, who is an academic at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Medicine.
“These two specialists may have come to remove the victim’s splattered tissue and blood. It appears that the Saudis sent two teams to kill Jamal Khashoggi, dismember him and then clean the crime scene. The presence of a toxicologist and chemist in the Saudi delegation is an indication that the body was dismembered. These experts entered the residence for cleaning purposes. The Saudis may have stalled crime scene investigators for this reason. According to the information we received from a reliable source, the investigation teams found a blood sample during the search. And a sample was taken from the wall. That means the Saudis couldn't completely eliminate all evidence,” said retired murder detective Savaş Kurtbaba.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed inside the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul after he went there to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage.
The Saudi government initially insisted Khashoggi had left the consulate, later saying he died in an unplanned "rogue operation". On Oct. 25, the kingdom's public prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb said the attack was premeditated.
Istanbul chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan said last week that Khashoggi was suffocated as soon as he entered the consulate, and his body then cut up and disposed of. Turkey has demanded cooperation from Saudi officials.
