Statement by Saudi Arabia About ‘Missing Journalist’

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Saudi Arabia has released a written statement about the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who is allegedly being held in the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in İstanbul.

The whereabouts of Jamal Khashoggi, who is a citizen of Saudi Arabia and went to the Consulate General of the country in İstanbul on October 2, has not been known since then.

The following message has been posted on Twitter by the consulate:

"The İstanbul General Consulate of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia informs the public that it has been following the news about the citizen of Saudi Arabia Jamal Khashoggi, who got missing after leaving the consulate general building in İstanbul, and has been working in cooperation with the local Turkish authorities to discover the truths as to how Khashoggi got missing after leaving the building of the consulate."

Turkey has requested information from Saudi Arabia

On October 4, the Ankara Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Abdulkerim El-Hireyci was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. The ministry requested information from El-Hireyci about the incident.

Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın also made a statement about the journalist on October 3 and said, "According to the information that we have, Jamal Khashoggi is still in the consulate."

In a statement made by the US Department of State, it has been indicated that the US has been informed about the disappearance of Khashoggi and it has been trying to obtain more information about the incident.

About Jamal Khashoggi

Journalist and writer Jamal Khashoggi is known for his opposing views about the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman and he has been writing at the Washington Post about this issue.

After he expressed his criticisms about the reforms introduced by bin Salman and drew reactions, he left Saudi Arabia in 2017 and moved to the US.

He worked as Director General and Editor-in-Chief at the Al Arab Media Group. He was also a media consultant at the Saudi Arabia Embassy in England. (AS/SD)

* Photograph: Şebnem Coşkun - İstanbul / Anadolu Agency