Selahattin Emre Celebi interviewed Ferhat Unlu – from the special investigation department of Sabah newspaper – on the new publication, ‘Diplomatic Cruelty: The Dark Secrets of the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi,’ written by Ferhat Unlu, Abdurrahman Simsek, and Nazif Karaman. The book details almost every point on the brutal murder of the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi that occurred in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018.

We would like to thank Mr. Ferhat Unlu for the time he shared with us, and to the authors of the book, which seeks to provide the Turkish and international public on the truths of the murder.

Importance

You describe the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi as the most ‘interesting’ murder in history and according to the data provided in your book, the murder was the most covered topic both in Turkey and the world media in October 2018. What makes it so important?

This is a peculiar case – in Turkish we call this ‘idiosyncratic’ in a negative sense of the term as it’s the first time in the modern history of international diplomacy that a citizen has been murdered in the embassy of his/her own state. There is no example of this in the history of diplomacy. On the other hand, with regard to the history of intelligence, there is no example of such an operation either. This murder is planned as – so called – an intelligence operation; this is the purpose, to be honest. However, intelligence services conduct these kinds of operations in very detailed, well planned, and executed in a much more sophisticated fashion. For example, a consulate is not chosen as a place of murder! There is no example of this. Another interesting fact about the murder is the location of the place. I personally believe that an influencing factor for the Saudis to choose Turkey – but not a western state like Britain or the U.S. – to execute the murder, is to give a message to the opponents of the Saudi regime currently in Turkey that Turkey is not a safe place for them.

On the other hand, the Saudis cannot dare to execute such an operation in a ‘superior’ western country. According to the Saudi perception, Turkey is a rival country. They often take a hostile approach towards Ankara in Middle Eastern affairs, so this operation was an opportunity for them to target the government. However, the execution of the operation – leaving traces all over, coming to the airport with a team of 15 officers, records of their images and voice records during the operation were all a total fiasco. Especially, failing to predict the possibility that Turkish authorities will record everything stunned the Saudis. If the operation had been successful, including the stuntman, it would have been a historical operation and Turkey would have had difficulties to clean up its image as a result of the murder. However, Turkey prevented this by providing both voice and image records of the operation and revealed the real story behind it in a very successful manner. These are other historical and significant developments, since the murder was one of the most interesting operations in history.

The Jamal Khashoggi murder was a total fiasco for the Saudi administration as they left traces all over, coming to the airport with a team of 15 officers, records of their images, and voice records during the operation were a total intelligence fiasco.

Why was the murder so brutal and violent? Could they not have silenced the victim in a more ‘moderate’ way?

Well, the post-mortem process is a factor. You came to execute the operation with a forensic expert. The intention here is to get rid of the body. Bringing a stuntman reflects that as well. They wanted to kill the victim, and wanted the body to disappear. They wanted to say: “Look, an opponent of the Saudis disappeared in Turkey and Turkey could neither prevent this, nor find the body.” I do not believe that the barbaric nature of the murder has anything to do with punishing the victim. No one deserves and nothing justifies this violence. But according to the plan of the operation, after murdering the victim, the ‘instinct’ to get rid of the body – taking the body out of the consulate, bringing it to the residence, and ‘extinguishing’ the body – with the purpose of eliminating evidence, caused them to conduct such a brutal and barbaric murder.

Why Khashoggi?

You ask the basic 6 questions of journalism in your book: What? Where? How? When? Why? Who? We can answer almost the first 4 in detail at the moment. But how do you answer the last two? Why this murder? Why Khashoggi? What is the message given here? And how do you read this in the bigger picture considering that international balances across the globe are changing? 

Well, we have indicated 4 parameters in our research. Yes, of the reasons for the murder of Khashoggi was due to the fact that he was an opponent of the Mohammad bin Salman administration. He was not an opponent of the Saudi Kingdom, he was a patriot who loved his country. In the past, he worked as a consultant for Turki b. Faysal of the Saudi intelligence service, therefore he was a person who was close to the administration.

In addition to being an opponent to MbS, he was a columnist for The Washington Post. He was a critique of MbS and was criticizing him in Washington, where the Prince got the most important support for his administration. Khashoggi’s influential criticism of Mohammad bin Salman in Washington angered the Crown Prince.

Another reason why Khashoggi was targeted was due to his stance on the Muslim Brotherhood. Although Khashoggi criticized the Muslim Brotherhood from time to time, he did not totally oppose them. He had a more balanced stance, which was totally unacceptable for MbS.

Khashoggi’s arguments of seeing Turkey as a model state for the Saudis and the rest of the Middle East, in my view, was another reason why he was targeted by MbS, who is jealous of Turkey and President Erdogan.

Finally, another reason for targeting Khashoggi was his intention to give life to the project ‘The Bee Army’ together with Saudi activist Omar Abd al-Aziz. This ‘The Bee Army’ project was planned by Abd al-Aziz and Khashoggi against the troll army of Saud al-Qahtanti called ‘The Fly Army.’ The conversations between Khashoggi and Abd al-Aziz were detected by MbS with the help of an Israeli cyber security company. This last point, probably forced by Qahtani, had a significant effect in the final decision to target Khashoggi.

Oxymoron

The title of the book contains and oxymoron: diplomacy and horror. How will this murder effect diplomacy and how will it be remembered in history?

As a journalist, I wouldn’t dare commenting on the history. As journalists, we provide facts for historians, that’s all. But I don’t think that there will be another example of this kind in the future of diplomacy. The political approaches of states reflect on their intelligence operations. For example, Turkey is a democratic state – I’m highlighting this for the outside world – whether they like it or not. Therefore, it minimizes security and terror threats in a democratic fashion as much as possible. It is a state that can differentiate between the guilty and non-guilty. We saw this during the ‘Trench Operations’ in 2015 in south-eastern Turkey. This is the concept of Turkey, it does not change. At the moment, Turkey strategically moved a bit further to prevent the threats outside its borders in Syria. This is a strategical change, but the understanding and approach does not change. You won’t kill opponents, if you have a terrorist group like FETO, you will judge them according to the constitution and put them behind bars. Therefore, it is unimaginable to think that Turkey will conduct such an operation.

When we look at other countries and their intelligence services, you cannot see these kinds of operations in the U.S. and Russian intelligence services. Maybe MOSSAD comes close to these kinds of operations – for example there was an operation in Dubai by Mossad members who were using British passports and angered the British administration – but even they will not think of such an operation. There are some unwritten rules in diplomacy and intelligence operations. Saudis destroyed all these rules with this operation. I believe that no one – including the Saudis – will plan such an operation in the future, and this murder will probably remain as the only one in history. It will be a milestone for the history of intelligence wars by heating up tensions between various states as well.

There are some unwritten rules in diplomacy and intelligence operations. The Saudis destroyed all these rules with the Jamal Khashoggi murder.

Turkish Wisdom

What does the murder mean for the Turkish state, public, and media? How has the Turkish state and intelligence service dealt with the process?

Turkey has been very successful in preventing any undesirable result of the incident towards its security and political image. During the first days of the incident, some argued that this could lead to a declaration of war between the Saudis and Turkey, resembling the murder of the Crown Prince in the Balkans, which triggered the start of WWI. But thank God, Turkey has been quite successful during this sensitive process.

From another point, Khashoggi was a guest in Turkey and Turkey is a country where opponents can easily take shelter. For example, during the 80s, many opponents of the Iranian regime had been eliminated by the Iranian intelligence service, but Turkey had been a place for harbor for many Iranian opponents at that time even though Turkey was not a state that was politically independent, it set its principles clear with regard to its intelligence. During 2008-2015, Russia had eliminated many Chechenia opponents, conducting some operations in Turkey. But Turkey put an end to these operations by making a deal with the Russian administration, and they have not been able to conduct such operations in Turkey since then. We have many ties with Russia at the moment, including the S-400s and cooperation in Syria, etc.

During the first days of the incident, some argued that the Khashoggi murder could lead to a declaration of war between the Saudis and Turkey, resembling the murder of the Crown Prince in the Balkans.

When we look at the bigger picture, Turkey has been quite pro-active during the process. First, by taking the incident as an attack on its political image, and secondly, by dealing with the incident with a humanistic approach. Turkey has been trying to solve the puzzle since the murder and informed the international public with the details. With the orders of President Erdogan, the Turkish state used all aspects of intelligence diplomacy and managed to bring the incident to the attention of the international public in a successful manner. The head of the Turkish intelligence service met with the heads of American, Canadian, British, French, and German intelligence services. If Russians had asked for evidence, it would have been given to them as well. Therefore, by conducting open intelligence operations, Turkey convinced Western countries, who also had no doubts about the incident. After convincing such countries, the United Nations also became involved in the process. Recently, the special envoy to the UN, Agnès Callamard, came to Istanbul and carried out research, speaking with us as well. These are quite important developments. Turkey did not want to lead the case alone and managed to bring it to the attention of the international public successfully. In a way, Turkey managed to counter the attack made on its image and security, just like a boomerang.

It’s sad that there is no piece from the corpse of the victim and President Erdogan has voiced this on many occasions. This is inhumane and unacceptable. It is not only against our religious and cultural values, but this kind of treatment is against all belief systems and values. Any human being, regardless of any affiliation, at least deserves to have a decent funeral ceremony.

In this regard, Turkey has fulfilled part of its responsibility, seeing it from a humanitarian perspective. And this time, Turkey did not suffer from what we call ‘valuable solitude,’ as Turkey informed the international public very well on the incident and the international public reacted in a positive way.

How about the Turkish public? How do they see the incident? What is the general attitude of the Turkish public towards the Saudi regime and the people responsible for this murder?

Look, this and similar regimes in the region are ‘strange’ regimes. They are established by hegemonic Western powers; their ideologies are invented by the West. Look at Wahabism, for example, consolidated a couple of centuries ago. Their economies are dependent; they may have petrol but they do not control the market. Therefore, Saudi Arabia is not an independent state. In this regard, Turkey’s position is quite different from Saudi Arabia. Turkey is aware that the Saudi administration is not independent, of course, keeping aside the Saudi society, as Turkey has no problem with the Saudi society. There are many opponents of MbS within Saudi Arabia who are Saudi citizens and MbS is suppressing them with very harsh methods. After seeing these developments, Turkey realized that this cannot continue like this. I mean the real ‘armageddon’ will begin after the death of King Salman Abd al-Azizi – father of MbS. Of course, we don’t know what kind of result will come after the competition starts between families and princes during that time. MbS may find himself all alone after the death of the King. Although Turkey has seen the King clear of the murder, the current position of MbS is supported by the King himself. King Salman has chosen MbS for the position and keeps him there with his full support, even though MbS is not the eldest child; he is the youngest child of the youngest wife. Therefore, I see this Khashoggi murder as an incident that its aftershocks will continue for a long time.

In a way, we can relate this with the downfall of FETO. When did it start? February 7, 2012. You may take the date earlier, but February 7 was the first serious ‘fight’ between FETO and the Turkish Republic, when the terrorist organization rebelled against the central authority of the state, targeting then PM Erdogan. This is when the downfall of FETO began. In this regard, we may compare February 7 with the Khashoggi incident: what the February 7 event was for FETO, the Khashoggi incident is the same for the current Saudi administration. I believe we will see the aftershocks in the upcoming days. We call this the ‘9/11’ of the Saudis in the book, and there will be, and currently are, serious consequences of this incident.

Killer

At this point, can we clearly determine who was responsible for this brutal murder?

Yes. The political responsibility belongs to MbS and the executers are the killer team of 15 people – these facts are certain. Look, this incident is the subject of a crime. I read and studied crime for long years, wrote 5 books on crime cases. Crime is the subject matter of my work and from the perspective of criminology, everything is clear. Only the Saudis are hiding the facts. The actors who took place in the murder, the execution of the operation and the political responsibility are all apparent, ready to start a trial. These evidences have been given to the UN special rapporteur – Agnès Callamard as well. Therefore, all the evidence required for a fair international trial exist, but the Saudis are not cooperating on this issue. The Saudi Foreign Minister even said that they do not know where Maher Abd al-Aziz Mutreb is – a member of the killing team and a close aid of MbS. This is totally unacceptable and ridiculous. Is it possible for a hit squad of 15 Saudis to arrive in Istanbul and murder an opponent Saudi journalist inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul without the knowledge of MbS? In such a case, would they be able to return to Saudi Arabia? They will be executed if they did such a thing according to their own will. Even al-Qahtani cannot do such a thing. This is not even a probability. So, everything is clear. There is only the trial left, but the Saudi administration refuses to cooperate.

One of the members of the killing team – Mashal Saad al-Bostani – reportedly died in a so-called traffic accident. But he was probably murdered. This is confirmed by various sources, and Turkey has also confirmed this. Now, they are saying that they do not know the whereabouts of Mutrab. I mean he is the main executer. Another member of the hit squad – Salah Muhammad Tubaigy – used to live in Jeddah after the incident according to our investigation, but we do not know whether he is still there or not. There is a rumour that the whole team are being kept together in an anonymous location. In short, the Saudi administration will not give these suspects to Turkey or the UN for a trial because of the possibility that they will speak and reveal all details including the name of who gave the order. They did not even allow the UN rapporteur to enter the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. In other words, the Saudi administration is not cooperating with anyone in order to solve the murder, even more, they have tried to sabotage Turkey’s attempts during the investigation process. We will see the outcomes of this historical incident in the near future.

The political responsibility of the Jamal Khashoggi murder belongs to MbS and the executers are the killer team of 15 people – these facts are certain.

Where do you think the body is?

We cannot talk about a body, but the remains of a body, since it was cut into pieces. And I believe these remains are in Turkey and were not taken out. Most probably inside the well of the Saudi consulate, if it were not removed from there later on. Another possibility is that they got rid of the pieces in another way. It is not difficult to do this once the body is dismantled, but not with acid. There is no evidence of this method being used according to our investigations. But we do know that the pieces of the body were taken to the residency from the consulate with suitcases. This is clear and Turkish authorities have tracked these steps. Video and voice recordings during and after the incident also confirm this. But, after this point, it is not clear. Just like with the entrance of Khashoggi going to the consulate and never leaving, the suitcases with the body pieces entered the residency and never came out. So, there is a high chance that they got rid of the remains inside the residency. They did not allow Turkish authorities to search the well, arguing that according to the Vienna Agreement, Turkish authorities could only search inside the buildings and not outside of them. Turkey is still trying to pursue a thorough investigation inside the consulate, but the Saudis are not responding at all. At this point, the situation is shameful and Saudis are fearful that this brutal murder will be revealed with all the evidence and remaining details.

To answer the second part of your question, I believe that the political future of MbS is at stake. The support of the U.S. is decreasing; any disagreement with the Trump administration can shake his seat. For example, if the rapprochement between the MbS administration and Russia gets stronger, the U.S. administration can easily pull down MbS. Former Crown Prince Muhammad b. Naif is a person trained by the FBI. These are clear in open sources, I am not making it up. Therefore, the U.S. always has a B plan. And the possibility of MbS getting closer to Putin is not something unreal. He has been approaching Russia since the murder, and we saw this at the G20 Summit. Khashoggi had also been writing against Putin, describing MbS as the Putin of Saudi Arabia. Here, the important point will be the decision made by the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council after the UN finalizes its report. But personally, I do not believe that the political career of MbS will continue, I highlight here again, after the death of King Salman.

“I believe that the political future of MbS is at stake. The support of the U.S. is decreasing; any disagreement with the Trump administration can shake his seat.”

Personal

What is the place of this murder in your life as a Turkish journalist?

Let me tell you this, we as a country, and not just as journalists but the whole of society, have been combatting terrorism, and I do not mean just one type of terrorism but various terrorist movements with different genetics, in a democratic approach for a long time. We have seen many attacks with different natures. But we have never seen such an attack on our soil. This is new for us. Unfortunately, this incident has entered our intelligence and diplomacy history as a ‘negative experience.’ It was not in our hands to prevent it, and after the incident, as the whole of Turkish society, we have done and are still doing what we have to do. I did not know Khashoggi, but as far as I know, he was a decent man who stood by Turkey during the July 15 coup attempt. Some rumoured that he was a Turkish spy, referring to his origins in Anatolia, which is really funny. He loved Turkey and its society, which is totally normal. But this point made the Saudi administration furious. It is really unfortunate that a man with 4 children and grandchildren, and who was in the eve of getting married was murdered this way. It is truly a sad story.

As journalists and as the special investigation department of our newspaper, Abdurrahim Simsek, Nazif Karaman and I felt like we had a responsibility. During our investigation, we realized that we needed to write a book on this incdent and were convinced that we could be the only department who could finish such a detailed research in a short period of time. And I believe we have done our best with the publication of this book.

The G20 Summit organized in Buenos Aires, Argentina, appeared on the agenda with debates revolving around the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, or known as MbS, who was found culpable by the global media for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. MbS was the media’s focus of attention with his appearance at the Summit despite the accusations against him. His attitude during his meeting with Putin and his expression during his encounter with U.S. President Trump were especially noteworthy. Various comments made on MbS underlined that he had been aspiring to restore his battered image. The Crown Prince undoubtedly kicked off works to clear his image after the world starting pointing at him in regards to the Khashoggi murder. So, his appearance at the G20 Summit must be read as a continuation of this process. In a retrospective consideration, it can be seen that MbS has been exerting efforts for perception management in the aftermath of the Khashoggi murder.

MbS on the front page of Washington Post

The evidence presented by the investigation pursued by Turkey presented to the public that names that were closely allied with the Crown Prince were part of the murder team in regards to the Jamal Khashoggi case. Another allegation published by the New York Times on November 14 revealed the links that directly connected MbS to the murder. According to the news report, shortly after Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, a member of the hit team instructed a supervisor over the phone “tell your boss,” – this boss is believed to be MbS and that his operatives carried out their mission. Also, the Washington Post, a paper that Khashoggi was a columnist of, printed a full-page photo of MbS on its front page with the caption “Demand the Truth,” in address to the U.S. Secretary of State who was heading to Saudi Arabia at the time. This demonstrated that he was held accountable by the global media. Similar claims have also been made by various politicians and journalists from different countries. Consequently, a general agreement can be observed with regard to the Crown Prince’s link to the murder.

Oxygen tube from Trump to the Crown Prince

Even U.S. President Trump, who is one of the closest allies of the Crown Prince, has tried to justify his continuing support to MbS to the world public by listing his financial excuses. With this attitude, he hinted that although he has been defending him, Trump could blackmail MbS whenever necessary. For Trump, the most important point is the payments that are to be made to the U.S. and MbS thinks that he can buy anything. These two approaches complement each other. Due to this attitude of President Trump, the world public was expected to forget the atrocious murder. However, it didn’t really work that way.

Trump’s remarks on the Khashoggi murder, such as that it was the worst cover-up effort he had seen in history and that the Prince may or may have not been a part of the murder, indicates that Trump actually knows the truth but is using it in line with his own interests. Such statements that occupy the global agenda and distract the media work to the detriment of the Crown Prince. It can be contended that the “controlled” statements of Trump function as an oxygen tube for MbS. Thus, MbS, who is aware that an escape corridor has been opened for him thanks to Trump’s s support and Russia’s affirmative gestures, is endeavoring to regain his popularity and restore his tarnished image after the murder. But the methods employed for this goal are quite predictable and familiar. Among them, three methods particularly stand out.

Million dollars and free tickets by MbS for lobbying companies

The first method is to continue funneling money to U.S.-based lobbying companies and to prevent any activity that will keep the murder on the agenda by transferring money to U.S.-based think tanks. In this sense, the comments of Human Rights Watch Deputy Program Director Tom Porteous are worth attention. Porteous stated that Washington-based think tanks abstain from criticizing Saudi Arabia despite the country’s long-standing human rights violations since they receive funds from Riyadh. His statements consolidate the doubts revolving around the continuation of such processes. Previously established relationships based on mutual interests can be said to be behind the strong claims suggesting that Prince Salman kicked off works to adopt a new image through the arms deals and the funds given to global PR companies. Porteous ended his statement by stating that think tanks always agree with Washington on U.S. foreign policy, which alludes to the Trump administration’s ambivalent attitude on MbS.

A PR method used by MbS is to continue funneling money to U.S.-based lobbying companies and to prevent any activity that will keep the murder on the agenda by transferring money to U.S.-based think tanks.

An article titled “Inside the Saudis’ Washington influence machine: How the Kingdom gained power through fierce lobbying and charm offensives,” which was published by Washington Post on October 23, explained how the Saudi administration uses its financial power for PR works and how this situation persisted in the aftermath of the Khashoggi murder. According to this article, 27 million dollars was spent on lobbying activities in 2017. It was also emphasized that MbS used his financial power to develop close relations with influential politicians and business people in Washington, especially Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Within this scope, the Saudi Embassy in Washington is said to be hosting occasional galas and U.S. congress members attend these events via lobbying companies.

MbS used his financial power to develop close relations with influential politicians and business people in Washington, the Saudi Embassy there is said to be hosting occasional galas and U.S. congress members attend these events via lobbying companies.

The article went on to claim that Saudi officials offered Super Bowl tickets and chartered flights to the event. It would be no exaggeration to state that this is linked to the fact that there was not considerable public reaction to the Khashoggi murder aside from the U.S. media outlets that fell out with Trump. An analysis titled “US lobbyists continue working with Saudi Arabia after the Khashoggi killing,” published by TRT World on November 21, also covers some detail showing that the previously signed deals between the two countries have not been cancelled. The analysis points out that there are 36 U.S. firms that are actively lobbying for Saudi Arabia in the U.S. and that these companies are spending millions of dollars in order to impress political actors.

There are 36 U.S. firms that are actively lobbying for Saudi Arabia in the U.S. and that these companies are spending millions of dollars in order to impress political actors.

Putin’s carte blanche to MbS

The second method is to consolidate alliances and initiate large-scale operations that will change the global agenda. The Gaza attacks of Israel, which is the strongest regional ally of Saudi Arabia, are generally evaluated in this context. Decreasing the pressure on the Crown Prince by distracting the attention of the global public stands out as the leading cause. An argument supporting this approach was covered in a news report published by New York Times on December 8. Stating that MbS and Kushner were on a first-name basis, calling each other Jared and Mohammed, the report reads that the two names talked to each other many times after the murder via text message and phone calls. The report titled “The Wooing of Jared Kushner: How the Saudis Got a Friend in the White House,” also states that Kushner is the leading White House figure that favors the Prince after the murder. So, it can be seen that Kushner has a major part in the PR works of MbS.

On the other hand, the acceleration of the operations in Yemen by Saudi Arabia coalition can also be interpreted as another distraction attempt by the Prince. The Prince seems to be in search of compensating the public pressure on him with a victory that could be obtained in Yemen. Besides, the efforts to consolidate the alliance formed during Trump’s Saudi Arabia visit are also notable. In this sense, MbS probably tried to create a positive impression by paying visits to UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and Tunisia before heading to the G20 Summit.

Thirdly, as already mentioned above, the Crown Prince regarded the Summit in Argentina as a component of his PR works. It is obvious that the positive statements on MbS issued by both Trump and Putin ahead of the Summit encouraged him while providing him with a ground for legitimacy.

In his meetings with both leaders, MbS behaved in a way to respond to their gestures. While the leaders were taking their seats after the shooting of the family photo, Putin and Prince Salman greeted each other quite candidly and exchanged a high-five. Although the sincerity between them has different meanings for Putin, it was very valuable for the image works of MbS under the present circumstances. A similar case also occurred during the MbS-Trump encounter. Although they did not seem particularly close, the two names gave the impression that they approve each other, which was another crucial acquisition for MbS from the Summit.

Turkey’s conscientious stance regarding the Khashoggi murder

Apparently, the two superpowers did not pay so much attention to the cold-blooded murder of Khashoggi in the Consulate building by a murder team including names from the Crown Prince’s close circle. Both countries seem to be approaching the issue in line with their own interests rather than questioning the names behind the murder. It is clear that MbS is using this opportunity served on a silver platter by the two superpowers to the fullest. Considering the interests of the two superpowers and the other counter-propaganda and lobbying activities undertaken by the Saudi administration, it can be argued that the G20 Summit has been one of the platforms where the Crown Prince continued his PR works.

The investments made in the lobbying works will not be enough to save the Crown Prince. They can  save a little time, but the evidence presented by Turkey to the world public will make MbS confront the truth he is trying to escape.

Still, many cases show that such image restoring efforts will remain insufficient against the bare truth. In this sense, the questions asked by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the Khashoggi killing in Argentina, such as the location of the body, the identities of local abettors and the real orchestrators of the murder constitute the greatest impediment to MbS’s efforts for a new image. The image aspired to be created by spending multi-million dollars is backlashing in the face of the naked truth addressed with these questions. Therefore, the investments made in the lobbying works and the two superpowers will not be enough to save the Crown Prince. The efforts will surely save a little time, but the strong evidence presented by Turkey to the world public has the potential to make MbS confront the truth he is trying to escape.

The developments surrounding the murder of Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which took place in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, are all pointing to the same direction: the murderer!

After receiving a CIA brief on the matter, on Tuesday, U.S. senators said that they were more than certain that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, was responsible for the killing of Khashoggi.

After the press release of U.S. senators, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Wednesday that an international investigation was needed to determine who was responsible for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Following the statement of Bachelet, news agencies released another striking headline: ‘Bipartisan group of senators introduces measure saying Saudi crown prince is ‘complicit’ in the killing of journalist.’

6 top U.S. senators from cross-party lines have introduced a scathing resolution to hold the Saudi Crown Prince accountable for the killing of Khashoggi. The proposal states that the Senate “has a high level of confidence” that MBS “was complicit in the murder.”

If approved by the Senate, it would officially condemn MBS for the killing of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch – a New York based international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights – called Turkey to submit a formal request to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to conduct an independent international probe into the killing of Khashoggi.

And finally, a Nordic country, following Germany, Denmark suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia for the Kingdom’s role in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

*Written by Selahattin Emre Celebi

Istanbul’s chief prosecutor has filed arrest warrants for the arrest of a top aide to Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and the deputy head of foreign intelligence on suspicion of planning the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

Prosecutors say there is ‘strong suspicion’ that royal court adviser chief Saud al-Qahtani and deputy head of intelligence Ahmed al-Asiri were among the planners of the October 2 murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The two names were removed from their positions in October while Saudi Arabia has detained 21 people and says it is seeking the death penalty for five over the slaying, which sparked international outrage. 

“The prosecution’s move to issue arrest warrants for Asiri and al-Qahtani reflects the view that the Saudi authorities won’t take formal action against those individuals,” one of the officials told Reuters news agency.

“By extraditing all suspects to Turkey, where Jamal Khashoggi was killed and dismembered, the Saudi authorities could address those concerns” added the same official.  

According to AFP news agency, the application for the warrants was filed on Tuesday.

The Saudi prosecution has previously acknowledged that al-Qahtani and Asiri were part of the plot to kill Khashoggi. The two men were both high-ranking officials with close ties to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Al-Qahtani is believed to have been Prince Mohammed’s right-hand man.

Meanwhile in the U.S., after a closed-door briefing by CIA Director Gina Haspel on Tuesday, some top U.S. senators have said there is “zero chance” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) wasn’t involved in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters, “You have to be wilfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS.” 

He added that it appeared that the Trump administration does not want to recognize evidence of the crown prince’s complicity. 

Back again in Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu made comments to reporters while on a visit to Brussels. The United Nations human rights chief on Wednesday called for an international investigation to determine who was responsible for the murder of the Saudi journalist in Istanbul two months ago.

“We will not hesitate to launch an international probe if the situation comes to a deadlock,” he said.

Turkey has been seeking to extradite 18 suspects, including 15 members of an alleged assassination squad accused of murdering and dismembering the writer.

Last month, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said the order for Khashoggi’s killing came from the highest level of the Saudi government but probably not King Salman, putting the spotlight instead on Salman’s heir and de facto ruler Prince Mohammed.

Saudi Arabia has said the prince had no prior knowledge of the murder.

*Written by Selahattin Emre Celebi

Sean Penn arrived in Istanbul to shoot a documentary about the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was brutally murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Sean Penn has already begun filming a document about Jamal Khashoggi. His murder triggered an international outcry and has become an international political scandal highlighting the ‘dirty’ relations between the U.S. President and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

It has been reported that the Oscar-awarded actor, who is well-known for his political and social activism, took footage in front of Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, where Khashoggi was murdered.

According to reports, Penn was accompanied by 10 people, including bodyguards and a production crew. The 58-year-old is continuing to work with a production team in the area.

After filming outside the Saudi Consulate, Penn was also seen outside the Saudi Consul-General’s nearby residence – the residence that was included in one of the potential areas of where Khashoggi’s remains could have been hidden.

It has been noted that the actor wants to meet Khashoggi’s Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, during his visit.

While it’s unknown for how long Penn will stay in Turkey for the documentary, he is expected to meet with officials in Istanbul and Ankara in order to obtain first-hand information.

Khashoggi was a vocal critic of the Saudi regime. After entering the Consulate on October 2, he disappeared. While the Saudi government first said that he had left the consulate alive, weeks after the international crisis emerged, they admitted that he was killed, and blamed a “rogue” team for the murder.

Istanbul’s chief prosecutor has filed arrest warrants for Saudi officials Ahmed Asiri and Saud al-Gahtani – two allies of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.  

*Written by Selahattin Emre Celebi. 

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is planning to attend the G-20 Summit next week in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This will be a moment of ‘truth’ and ‘dare’ for world leaders, as Salman was initially accepted by international media outlets as the person behind the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The U.S., U.K. and France have maintained their arms sales to Riyadh regardless of the situation in Yemen where 85,000 children under the age of 5 have died due to hunger or disease since the war began in 2014. Even after the international reaction to the murder of Khashoggi, none of these powers considered re-visiting their arms deals.

The U.S., U.K. and France have maintained their arms sales to Riyadh regardless of the situation in Yemen while Denmark and German decided to take a step back from their relations with the Saudi administration.

In opposition to this, Denmark and German decided to take a step back from their relations with the Saudi administration. Germany has imposed European travel bans on 18 Saudi nationals suspected of being involved in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and have confirmed an arms embargo against Riyadh. Denmark became the second European country, after Germany, to halt future arms exports to Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

While the majority of world leaders are silent on ‘the Salman question,’ U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his strong support for the Saudi Arabia administration. In an extraordinary public statement against reported U.S. intelligence assessments of the Khashoggi killing, Trump claimed that “King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi.” Trump further argued in the same written statement that “Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t! That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran. The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region. It is our paramount goal to fully eliminate the threat of terrorism throughout the world!”

Having said that, Trump leaves the door open for further investigations as long as these investigations do not hurt American interests: “I understand there are members of Congress who, for political or other reasons, would like to go in a different direction – and they are free to do so. I will consider whatever ideas are presented to me, but only if they are consistent with the absolute security and safety of America.”

It seems that Trump intends to play his cards according to future developments and according to the position of Turkey, as Turkish authorities have not yet revealed all the information they have on the Khashoggi case.

Earlier this week, Ibrahim Karagul – editor of Yenisafak daily newspaper who is close to state authorities in Turkey – claimed that if the full transcripts of the audio of the Khashoggi murder was to be leaked, this will be the ‘end of Salman.’ Serdar Turgut, another experienced journalist reporting from Washington claimed that U.S. authorities have already made this leak and have showed Saudis their ‘Trump card,’ and achieved their goal by holding evidence against Salman in order to have full control over Riyadh. He further argued that Turkish authorities should do the same and should hold their ‘Trump card’ until the ‘right’ moment in order not to lose their pivoting role on the Khashoggi affair.

On Wednesday, AK Party Member of Parliament for Istanbul Numan Kurtulus accused  Trump of trying to turn a blind eye to the murder of Khashoggi, and dismissed his comments on the issue as “comic.”

While not directly accusing the Saudi Crown Prince, Turkey has repeatedly insisted that the order to murder Khashoggi came from the “highest levels” of the Saudi government. As expected, this has been strongly denied by the administration in Riyadh.

The Argentinian government confirmed that Crown Prince Salman is on the list of attendees at the G-20 Leaders’ Summit. Since President Erdogan will also be attending the Summit, it’s natural for one to expect for the Turkish President to use this platform to demand accountability for the Khashoggi murder. However, if Salman attends the summit, Erdoğan and other world leaders would probably have a meeting with him to let their future moves about the Crown Prince’s future and his reaction to these moves. Indeed, the chess game for the future of Middle East will continue to be played in the G20 summit at the end of the month in Buenos Aires.

Crown Prince MbS is still yet to confirm whether he will attend the Summit or not.

On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist and critic of the policies of the current Saudi monarchy, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. His status as columnist with the Washington Post in the U.S., the international response to the nature of his death, and the uncertainty surrounding what happened has created a wave of international press coverage and concern.

President Trump’s response to the incident has been tempered by Saudi oil exports accounting for 13 percent of global crude production and the Kingdom is still perceived to be able to help control oil prices in OPEC as a swing producer. This will be particularly important as the U.S. imposes new sanctions on Iranian oil exports after 5 November 2018. President Trump also claims that more than $110 billion in arms sales are at stake.

Whilst agreeing with Saudi Arabia’s ‘rogue killers’ theory, President Trump sent Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, to meet with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman. He then sent a different message, calling the conflicting Saudi version of events surrounding the murder ‘the worst cover up ever‘. In a televised address on 23 October, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan went a step further, saying the murder was premeditated and that he holds intelligence on what happened. The Saudi prosecutor has since agreed that the murder was premeditated.

Germany has quickly haltered arms exports to the Kingdom while urging other EU states to do the same. Quite late in the process, President Trump sent CIA Director, Gina Haspel, to Turkey to assist in the investigation and Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, travelled to six countries in theMiddle East, including Saudi Arabia, visiting the Terrorist Financing Targeting Centre and having meetings in preparation for Iran sanctions. Although he did not participate in the Future Investment Initiative (FII) which has been boycotted by various business and political leaders (including from France, Australia and the Netherlands), he did meet with Mohammad bin Salman who stressed the importance of the U.S.-Saudi strategic partnership.

The initial Saudi response has been to absolve members of the royal family over the incident by firing 5 top officials and arrested 18 other Saudis. In the economic sphere, the Saudi oil minister, Khalid al-Falih, has said that global oil demand will be met no matter what. The international oil price has already dropped from $85 to $76 since the murder. The move has calmed fears amid a global sell-off caused by this incident, along with budget issues for the Italian government and Brexit. It is also helping President Trump in the lead up to the mid-term elections by its knock on effect in gas pump prices, but oil policy could change and stability will be key up to the elections in on 6 November.

In a state department news conference on 23 October, Secretary of State Pompeo announced that the Trump administration would be revoking the US visas of 21 Saudi suspects implicated in the incident. He also talked about the possibility of targeted sanctions on those responsible for Khashoggi’s death. This was after a bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to President Trump in early October which triggered an investigation through the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The Act was originally intended to punish Russian officials responsible for the death of Russian tax accountant Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison in 2009, specifically preventing implicated officials from travelling to the US or using the US banking system.

Like the Russian case but in contrast to U.S. sanctions against Iran led by the White House under Executive Order, President Trump has given the U.S. Congress responsibility for longer term responses related to the Khashoggi case. Much depends on the congressional testimony of Gina Haspel once she returns to the U.S. and on Turkish officials or further media revelations concerning the circumstances surrounding the death of Jamal Khashoggi. There does appear to be congressional appetite for sanctions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia if there is sufficient evidence to suggest Saudi officials were involved in the murder, but this is yet to be determined.

President Trump’s assertion that U.S. arms deals to Saudi Arabia are worth $110 billion has been cited as being incorrect given that the deals have not all been signed or paid for. Therefore they cannot equate to up to 600,000 jobs at risk and Congress is probably aware of this.

If further measures are implemented against Saudi Arabia, no matter what the Saudi threats would be in response, whether concerning oil production or moves to purchase more weapons from US adversaries such as Russia and China, the Kingdom will remain tied to the U.S. and its security umbrella against Iran. In turn, the Saudis can also be relatively confident that the U.S. needs Riyadh’s compliance to help maximise pressure on Iran, so its response is likely to be relatively low key.

Still, economic fallout from this incident could yet be felt in the Kingdom, the region and in global markets if a set of more robust sanctions are imposed. Saudi Vision 2030, including the diversification away from oil, remain priorities and part of Mohammad bin Salman’s portfolio, along with defence. Continued state intervention in the economy, including the arbitrary detention of hundreds of princes and businessmen at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh in November 2017 and capital flight remain real issues in the diversification process. Saudi Arabia is heavily invested in states and markets across the region and internationally through aid, trade and investments. The Public Investment Fund alone (on whose board Mohammad bin Salman sits) has $557 billion of investments, with many in western markets. But it is conceivable that deals such as the $20 billion deal with Blackstone Group Infrastructure Fund could be arranged to maximise privacy and continued investment under almost any conditions. The issue of providing jobs to millions of youth in Saudi Arabia will also be of paramount importance going forward and favours greater economic engagement in the Saudi economy, under the right conditions, not less.

Regionally, Saudi Arabia is a lynchpin of President Trump’s Middle East policy which seeks to contain Iran and support Israel, Jordan and Egypt. In return, the Trump administration has continued to support the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen and remained inarticulate over Saudi and Emirati attempts to isolate Qatar. Should the U.S. and U.K. follow Germany’s lead by suspending arms sales to the Kingdom it would send a strong signal and potentially give Riyadh an incentive to bring its intervention in Yemen to a negotiated end. This could change the overall dynamic of U.S.-Saudi relations in the Middle East and put the bilateral relationship under further pressure. For example, Saudi Arabia was against the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, blamed the U.S. for the loss of its ally President Mubarak in Egypt and turmoil there in 2012 – 2013, and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that threatened a U.S.–Iran rapprochement. However, such a move might boost U.S. standing in the Middle East more broadly, especially after President Obama’s ‘red lines’ were exceeded by the Syrian government’s repeated use of chemical weapons. The question is whether the Trump administration has the political will to entertain a new approach to the Middle East and develop its capacity in doing so.

President Trump has been clear that human rights and democracy promotion do not form part of his foreign policy agenda. He instead relies on personal relationships, reassurances and ‘alternative facts.’ This policy would need to be revisited if Congress supports the return of the U.S. to favour more of a values based foreign policy.