‘Jamal Khashoggi was murdered’

Turan Kışlakçı, head of the Turkish-Arab Media Association (TAM), on Sunday confirmed the reports of the murder of a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, who was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

“Condolences to us all. Condolences to the entire world. Jamal Khashoggi was not only a known figure in the Arab world but across the globe. The news reached us two days ago. We confirmed it yesterday. Sources say that he was brutally murdered. It is certain that he was killed, but we have not be able to absolutely confirm that he was barbarically murdered. Soon, authorities will make a statement on this subject. We know that they have concrete evidence,” said Kaşıkçı in a press conference outside the Saudi consulate.

“This savage act is unacceptable. We don’t just want people to react, but for states to show a reaction as well. He and his children were American citizens. We want the U.S. to put a diplomatic stance forth. Jamal Khashoggi was a globally-renowned journalist,” he concluded.

Khashoggi, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Washington for the past year fearing retribution for his criticism of Saudi policies, entered the consulate on Tuesday to secure documents for his forthcoming marriage, according to his fiancée, who waited outside. He has not been heard of since.

Turkish authorities have concrete information on the disappearance of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has been missing for six days, an adviser of Turkey's ruling AK Party said on Sunday.

Yasin Aktay said he believed that Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.

"My sense is that he has been killed ... The Saudis are saying we can come investigate, but they have of course disposed of the body," he said, adding that he believed Saudi statements about a lack of footage from security cameras were insincere.

He stated that Khashoggi had not left the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which he had entered on Tuesday to obtain documents for a forthcoming marriage, in "normal ways". The case would not go unsolved, Aktay said.

Late on Saturday, Turkish sources said that Turkish authorities believed Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate last week, in what they described as the deliberate targeting of a prominent critic of the Gulf kingdom's rulers.