Ankara to Saudis: Khashoggi’s murder was premeditated

By Rabie Abu Zamil

RIYADH

Saudi Arabia has received information from Turkey that those responsible for the Oct. 2 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul had planned the crime beforehand.

“Information obtained from Turkey indicates that suspects in the case planned the act in advance,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted Saudi Public Prosecutor Saud al-Mujeb as saying Thursday.

According to al-Mujeb, Saudi prosecution authorities are continuing their investigations in light of the information received from Turkey.

A columnist for The Washington Post, Khashoggi was last seen on Oct. 2 when he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

After days of denying any knowledge of his whereabouts, Saudi officials last week admitted that the journalist had been killed inside the consulate.

In a related development, Saudi Crown Prince Mohamad bin Salman on Thursday chaired a meeting of a newly-created committee tasked with restructuring the Saudi intelligence apparatus, according to the SPA.

Amid the ongoing furor over Khashoggi’s death, Saudi King Salman has sacked the deputy head of the Saudi intelligence agency -- and a top aide -- while also ordering the arrest of 18 suspects in the case.

World leaders, meanwhile, continue to urge the Saudi authorities to clarify the circumstances of the journalist’s murder.