SAUDI Arabian officials planned to murder journalist Jamal Khashoggi days before his death in the Gulf state’s Istanbul consulate, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish President, has claimed.
Mr Erdogan told Turkey's parliament that the Saudi officials began plotting the “savage” murder in late September, days ahead of his disappearance after he entered the consulate on October 2.
The President called on Saudi Arabia's King Salman to allow the 18 suspects to be tried in Istanbul and stressed how diplomatic immunity was not "armour" for murder.
Addressing lawmakers of his ruling party, Mr Erdogan said all those responsible for the killing must be punished regardless of rank; from the person who ordered his death to those who carried out the killing.
“Where is the body of Jamal Khashoggi?" he asked.
The Turkish leader’s comments flatly contradicted Saudi accounts that Mr Khashoggi died accidentally in a "fistfight" in the consulate.
Mr Erdogan’s address coincided with the start of an investment conference in Saudi Arabia that has been overshadowed by the Khashoggi case with dozens of government and business leaders pulling out, including Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary.
The President claimed three teams of 15 Saudi nationals arrived in Istanbul on separate flights in the days and hours leading up to the journalist’s murder.
He said the day before the killing some members from the group travelled to a forest near the consulate; an area which last week was searched by Turkish police looking for Mr Khashoggi’s body.
Mr Erdogan also described how the team had removed security cameras and surveillance footage from the consulate building before the journalist arrived; he was there to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage.
The President claimed the Saudis had used a "body double" as a decoy after Mr Khashoggi was murdered.
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