Latest update February 23rd, 2025 6:05 AM
Dec 10, 2018 News
…Saudis refuse to extradite murder suspects to Turkey
(CNN) – “I can’t breathe.” These were the final words uttered by Jamal Khashoggi after he was set upon by a Saudi hit squad at the country’s consulate in Istanbul, according to a source briefed on the investigation into the killing of the Washington Post columnist.
The source, who has read a translated transcript of an audio recording of Khashoggi’s painful last moments, said it was clear that the killing on October 2 was no botched rendition attempt, but the execution of a premeditated plan to murder the journalist.
During the course of the gruesome scene, the source describes Khashoggi struggling against a group of people determined to kill him.
“I can’t breathe,” Khashoggi says.
“I can’t breathe.”
“I can’t breathe.”
The transcript notes the sounds of Khashoggi’s body being dismembered by a saw, as the alleged perpetrators are advised to listen to music to block out the sound.
And, according to the source, the transcript suggests that a series of phone calls are made, briefing them on progress. Turkish officials believe the calls were made to senior figures in Riyadh.
Some of the details in the transcript heard by CNN’s source have emerged in previous reports of the recording’s content. But this is the fullest account of the transcript that has so far been published.
It is likely to increase pressure on the Trump administration, which has been determined to separate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from the murder, and sought to frame the issue as a binary choice between supporting or cutting off a key partner in the Middle East. US President Donald Trump has been at odds with the CIA, which, sources say, has concluded bin Salman personally ordered the killing.
The revelations also threaten to undermine a key plank of an initial Saudi explanation for Khashoggi’s death, that it was a rogue operation that went horribly wrong.
The original transcript of the audio was prepared by Turkish intelligence services. Turkish officials have never said how they obtained the audio. The transcript would have been translated before it was shared with other intelligence services; CNN’s source read a translated version and has been briefed on the investigation.
The office of one US senator, who has received a briefing on the investigation by CIA Director Gina Haspel, told CNN that the source’s recollections of the transcript are “consistent” with that briefing.
CNN asked Saudi officials to comment on the contents of the transcript as described by the source, and to provide comment from those named in it. A Saudi official said: “The relevant Saudi security officials have reviewed the transcript and tape materials through Turkish security channels and nowhere in them is there any reference or indication of a call being made.”
“If there is additional information Turkish authorities have that we are unaware of, we would welcome it being officially handed over to us for review, which we have requested numerous times and are still requesting. And, up until now; we have not received anything.” The official did not address the transcript’s characterization of the scene inside the Saudi consulate, nor Khashoggi’s last words.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has ruled out extraditing two former Saudi officials against whom Turkey has issued arrest warrants in connection with the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“We don’t extradite our citizens,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in a press conference in capital Riyadh on Sunday, when asked for his comments on the Turkish move.
Khashoggi, who was a columnist for The Washington Post and a vocal critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed inside Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul in October.
A Turkish court on Wednesday issued arrest warrants against former Saudi intelligence chief, Ahmad al-Assiri, and former adviser to the royal court, Saud al-Qahtani, at the request of Istanbul’s chief prosecutor.
Assiri often sat in during Prince Mohammed’s closed-door meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries and Qahtani was a key counsellor to the crown prince.
Both were sacked after Riyadh admitted Khashoggi was killed in its consulate, but the kingdom has repeatedly denied reports that the crown prince is linked to the murder.
“The Turkish authorities have not been as forthcoming as we believe they should have been,” said Jubeir, saying Riyadh was presented with information that had already been leaked to the media.
“We have asked our friends in Turkey to provide us with evidence that we can use in a court of law. We have not received it in the manner that it should have been received.”
Last month, Saudi prosecutors said they were seeking the death penalty for five of the 11 Saudi nationals indicted for Khashoggi’s murder.
US President Donald Trump has refused to call out the Saudi leadership for its alleged involvement in the murder, despite US intelligence agencies reportedly presenting him with evidence of it.
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