Turkish Media Publishes Gruesome Audio Recording of Khashoggi's Interrogation, Murder

By teleSUR

20 October 18

In the recordings, Consul General Muhammad Otaibi, who fled to Riyadh Tuesday, wanted the execution to take place outside the consulate.

urkish news media outlet Yeni Safak published Wednesday details from audio recordings, obtained by Turkish intelligence, from the investigation into the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

His killers were waiting when the journalist walked into the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. They severed his fingers during an interrogation and later beheaded and dismembered his body according to the audio recordings.

In one of the recordings, the consul general Muhammad Otaibi, who fled to Riyadh Tuesday, said the execution should be done outside the consulate.

“Do this outside. You will put me in trouble,” he said in the now public recording.

A team of 15 Saudi agents, some with ties to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was waiting for Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate. When he arrived at 1:15 p.m. on Oct. 2 he was immediately seized upon entering the office and was later beaten and tortured until his death.

“If you want to live when you come back to Arabia, shut up,” one of the agents said, according to the report.

A forensic expert who had been brought along for the dismembering and disposal of the journalist advised others to put on headphones and listen to music while he carried out the gruesome murder.

According to the report, Khashoggi's dying screams could be heard before he was “injected with an unknown drug” and later fell silent.

On Tuesday, the Washington Post scanned copies of the passports of the 15 men, who arrived in Turkey the same day as Khashoggi and have been linked to his murder. According to the report, Turkish officials provided them with copies of the documents.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied any connection to Khashoggi’s murder. It was reported Tuesday by CNN that the kingdom will admit to their role in the Khashoggi case following an investigation.

The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Saudi Arabia Wednesday and has since said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman repeatedly denied "knowledge" of the matter.

On Wednesday, Pompeo held separate meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, each for about 40 minutes in Ankara, Turkey’s capital. No statements were given after the meeting.

On a flight later, Pompeo said Erdogan reported, “the Saudis had cooperated with the investigation that the Turks are engaged in and they are going to share information.”

The Turkish police searched the Saudi consulate but found that cleaners and painters had been brought in, giving rise to speculation that there is some form of cover-up.

The search of the residence came after the audio recording of Khashoggi’s interrogation was published by the Turkish newspaper. It is believed the search was supposed to be conducted Tuesday but was delayed due to the fact that consul general's family was on site. It was conducted Wednesday instead.

Khashoggi is a U.S. resident and columnist for the Washington Post who went into self-imposed exile last year after reportedly being warned by Saudi officials to stop criticizing the crown prince's policies.