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Saudis identify suspects in murder of Jamal Khashoggi

Saudi Arabia officials announced that 11 suspect’s have been indicted by the Saudi Arabian prosecutor in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi on October 2, 2018 during a visit to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Public Prosecutor issued a statement following the two previous statements issued on 19/10/2018 and 25/10/2018 in reference to the case of the murder of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi, may Allah bless his soul, and based on the information provided through the joint Saudi- Turkish Joint team, and the investigations conducted by the Public Prosecutor with the suspects in custody, whose total number has reached (21) individuals; after the summoning of (3) additional suspects by the Public Prosecution.

The Public Prosecutor announced that (11) suspects have been indicted, and their cases will be referred to court, while the investigation with the remaining suspects will continue in order to determine their involvement and their role in the crime. The Public Prosecutor has requested the death penalty for (5) individuals who are charged with ordering and committing the crime and for the appropriate sentences for the other indicted individuals.

‏In this regard, the Public Prosecutor would like to note that it has submitted formal requests to brotherly authorities in Turkey, letters no. 7841 dated 17/10/2018 and no. 9995 dated 25/10/2018 and no. 11350 dated 31/10/2018 to provide evidence and information, including any audio recordings in the possession of the Turkish authorities related to the case.

Jamal Khashoggi, former Saudi Royal family insider turned critic at the Washington Post, courtesy of Wikipedia

The Public Prosecutor has also requested the brotherly Turkish authorities to sign a special cooperation mechanism specific to this case in order to provide them with the results of the investigation; pursuant to Saudi law, and to obtain relevant evidence and information in possession of the Turkish authorities to assist with the investigation. The Public Prosecutor is still awaiting a response to these requests.

Public Prosecution: A Briefing on the Investigation Results

The Public Prosecution said in a press briefing that through the investigation carried out up to date with the 21 suspects in the case of the murder of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi, the investigation has resulted in the following findings:

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1. ‏The incident began on 19/1/1440 (29/9/2018) upon the issuance of an order to bring back the victim by means of persuasion, and if persuasion fails, to do so by force. The former Deputy President of the General Intelligence Presidency (GIP) issued this order to the leader of the mission.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

2. ‏The leader of the mission formed a 15-member team that consisted of three groups (negotiations/ intelligence/ logistics) to persuade and return the victim. The leader of the mission suggested to the former Deputy President of the GIP to assign a former colleague to head the negotiation group in the team because of his previous relationship with the victim. This former colleague was assigned at the time to work with a former Advisor.

3. The former Deputy President of the GIP contacted the former advisor to request assignment of the individual with whom the victim had a previous relationship. The former advisor agreed to this request and asked to meet the leader of the mission.

4. The former advisor met with the leader of the mission and the negotiation team; to share with them information relevant to the mission based on his specialization in media. The former advisor expressed his belief that the victim was co opted by organizations and states hostile to the Kingdom and that the victim’s presence outside of Saudi Arabia represents a threat to national security and he encouraged the team to persuade the victim to return, noting that his return represents a significant achievement of the mission.

5. The leader of the mission contacted a forensics expert to join the team for the purpose of removing evidence from the scene in the case force had to be used to return the victim. The forensics expert joined the team without the knowledge of his superiors.

6. The leader of the mission contacted a collaborator in Turkey to secure a safe location in case force had to be used return the victim.

7. After surveying the Consulate, the head of the negotiation team concluded that it would not be possible to transfer the victim by force to the safe location in case the negotiations with him to return failed. The head of the negotiation team decided to murder the victim if the negotiations failed. The investigation concluded that the incident resulted in murder.

8. The investigation concluded that the crime was carried out after a physical altercation with the victim where he was forcibly restrained and injected with a large amount of a drug resulting in an overdose that led to his death, May Allah bless his soul.

9. The investigation has identified those that ordered and carried out the murder, totaling (5) individuals that have confessed to the murder.

10. After the murder the victim’s body was dismembered by the individuals that have committed the murder and was transferred outside the consulate building.

11. The investigation concluded that the body was removed from the Consulate building by (5) individuals.

12. The individual who delivered the body to the collaborator has been identified.

13. Based upon the description provided by the individual who delivered the body to the collaborator, a composite sketch of the collaborator has been produced.

14. The investigation identified the individual who wore the victim’s clothes after the murder and disposed of the victim’s belongings in a trash receptacle, including his watch and glasses, after leaving the Consulate building. In addition the investigation identified the individual that accompanied him.

15. The investigation established that the surveillance cameras in the Consulate were disabled, and the investigation identified the individual responsible for doing so.

16. The investigation found that (4) suspects provided the logistical support to those who carried out the crime.

17. The investigation concluded that the leader of the mission agreed with the negotiation group and their head (that made the decision to murder the victim and carried out the crime) to write a false report to the former Deputy President of GIP that stated that the victim had left the Consulate building after the failure of negotiating or forcing his return.

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RAY HANANIA — Columnist

Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.

"I write about three topics, the Middle East, politics and life in general. I often take my life experiences and offer them in an entertaining way to readers, and I take on the toughest topics like the Israel-Palestine conflict and don't pull any punches about what I feel is fair. But, my priority is always about writing the good story."

Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992. Hanania began writing in 1975 when he published The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper which was distributed through 12,500 Middle East food stores in 48 American States (2004-2007).

Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues for the Arab News in Saudi Arabia at www.ArabNews.com, the TheArabDailyNews.com, www.TheDailyHookah.com and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has also published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday Newspaper in New York, the Orlando Sentinel Newspapers, and the Arlington Heights Daily Herald.

Palestinian, American Arab and Christian, Hanania’s parents originate from Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.

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