An adviser to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday he believed prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has been missing for six days, was killed in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.

Yasin Aktay, who advises Erdogan in his ruling AK Party, also told Reuters that Turkish authorities believed a group of 15 Saudi nationals were "most certainly involved" in the matter, and added that statements by Saudi officials on the absence of camera records were not sincere.

(Video credit: /www.aljazeera.com)

Late on Saturday, Turkish authorities said that they believe that prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate.

“The initial assessment of the Turkish police is that Mr. Khashoggi has been killed at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul. We believe that the murder was premeditated and the body was subsequently moved out of the consulate,” one Turkish official told Reuters on Saturday.

However, the sources did not mention how they believed the murder was carried out. On Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s consul-general told Reuters his country was helping search for Khashoggi, and dismissed talk of his possible abduction.

Khashoggi has been living in Washington for the past year fearing retribution for his critical views on Saudi policies. He entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday to secure documentation for his forthcoming marriage, according to his fiancee, who waited outside. He has not been heard of since.

Since then, Turkish and Saudi officials have offered conflicting accounts of his disappearance, with Ankara saying there was no evidence that he had left the diplomatic mission and Riyadh saying he exited the premises the same day.

(Source: https://www.reuters.com/article, https://www.thepeninsulaqatar, Cover image: REUTERS/Osman Orsal)

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Khadiza Begum

Content Writer

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