Turkey says it has shared tapes related to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi with the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and other European nations.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that Saudi Arabia had to “act fairly” and disclose those responsible for the October 2 killing of The Washington Post journalist to rid itself of “suspicion”.
“We gave them the tapes. We gave them to Saudi Arabia, to America, to the Germans, the French, to the British, to all of them,” Erdogan said before departing for Paris to attend ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One.
“They [Saudi officials] also listened to the conversations and they know. There is no need to distort this. They know for certain who among the 15 is the killer or are the killers,” he said.
He was referring to an alleged 15-member assassination squad that Turkey believes was sent to kill Khashoggi at the consulate where he had arrived to obtain papers to marry his Turkish fiancee.
CIA director Gina Haspel, who visited Turkey last month for information on the investigation, is reported to have heard the audio recordings of the killing.
The existence of the tapes was leaked to the media, but never openly confirmed until now.
Turkey says Khashoggi, who was critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was strangled and dismembered at the consulate as part of a premeditated killing.
Media reports have suggested that the 59-year-old’s body could have been chemically dissolved.
Turkey is seeking the extradition of 18 suspects who have been detained in Saudi Arabia, so they can be put on trial in Turkey. They include the 15 alleged assassins.
Saudi Arabia had insisted for weeks that Khashoggi left the consulate alive, before changing its story to say he died in a brawl.
Last month, Saudi Arabia acknowledged that Turkish evidence indicates that Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, shifting its explanation in an apparent effort to ease international outrage over the death.
Saudi officials characterise the killing as a rogue operation carried out by Saudi agents who exceeded their authority.
Yet some of those implicated in the killing are close to the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, including a member of the prince’s entourage on foreign trips who was seen at the consulate before Khashoggi’s slaying.
Erdogan accused Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor, who was sent to Istanbul last month as part of a joint probe, of employing “delaying tactics”.
“Saudi Arabia needs to accept that [the killer] is among the 18 and needs to get rid of the suspicion by responding to Turkey’s good will and acting fairly,” he said.