Both Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his father King Salman have called Khashoggi’s eldest son, Salah Khashoggi, to express their condolences, according to the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry.
This followed Saudi Arabia admitting for the first time Friday that the writer had died in the country’s consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, and announcing that 18 Saudi citizens had been detained in connection with his death.
Jubeir said Saudi Arabia wanted to make sure “those who are responsible are punished, and we want to make sure that we have procedures in place that prevent it from happening again.”
Jubeir also said the Saudis did not know the details of how Khashoggi was killed or where his body is. He added that an investigating team in Turkey found evidence contradicting earlier reports that Khashoggi left the consulate after his visit.
According to Jubeir, the prosecutor determined “that the reports that were originally filed were wrong and that there was something that happened that was criminal.”
The fate of the regime-insider-turned-critic has ignited a firestorm of condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s leadership, particularly the crown prince — the country’s putative leader who has overseen a sweeping crackdown on dissent.
Saudi Arabia’s explanation on Friday that a “quarrel and fighting by hand” led to Khashoggi’s death has been met with deep international skepticism.
The kingdom’s latest version of events, its numerous changes in narrative and the fact that Khashoggi’s body still has not been discovered leaves unanswered questions, and prompted Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate to call for the president to hold Saudi Arabia accountable.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that he would reveal more about the investigation on Tuesday. The White House said Erdogan and President Donald Trump discussed the case in a telephone call on Sunday.
Trump offered sharper criticism of Saudi Arabia’s explanation on Saturday evening, telling The Washington Post: “Obviously, there’s been deception, and there’s been lies.”
But Trump has also continued to defend the kingdom as an “incredible ally” and allowed for the possibility that Khashoggi’s death was not directly ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed.
