RTMon, 22 Oct 2018 16:37 UTC
© CNNJournalist Jamal Khashoggi (L) pictured outside the embassy before his disappearance. A man identified as Mustafa al-Madani (R), wearing Khashoggi's clothes hours later
An unnamed senior Turkish official has told CNN that one of the 15-man hit squad that allegedly murdered Jamal Khashoggi was a doppelgänger who
left the Saudi Consulate in the slain reporters' clothes moments after the killing.
"You don't need a body double for a rendition or an interrogation," the official reportedly told
CNN. "Our assessment has not changed since October 6. This was a premeditated murder and the body was moved out of the consulate."
Surveillance footage allegedly provided by Turkish authorities to CNN purports to show Khashoggi's lookalike, named as Mustafa al-Madani, leaving the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul via the rear entrance, wearing the journalist's own clothes that he wore on October 2.
Madani also dons a fake beard and glasses to appear more like his alleged victim.
Four hours before the killing, al-Madani was seen entering the consulate building beardless, wearing a blue and white checked shirt and dark blue trousers but, moments after the incident, al-Madani can be seen wearing what appears to be Khashoggi's own dark blazer, open-collared grey shirt and trousers.
"Khashoggi's clothes were probably still warm when Madani put them on," the senior Turkish official told CNN.
Madani, 57, is of similar age and build to Khashoggi, 59, and was
reportedly brought in as a decoy to throw Turkish investigators off the killers' trail.
However, in the footage, Madani is wearing the same sneakers he had on prior to entering the consulate that do not match Khashoggi's outfit.
He then later appears at the city's famous Blue Mosque, a popular tourist destination where he could blend in with the crowd, before changing back into his own clothes.Additional surveillance footage allegedly shows Madani's accomplices dumping Khashoggi's clothes in a dumpster elsewhere in the city.So far, the Saudis' explanation for what fate befell Khashoggi has changed multiple times, having initially claimed his death was the result of a fistfight at the consulate, before claiming he had been placed in a chokehold and died accidentally, and later admitting that the journalist's death was indeed murder and a "tremendous mistake."Khashoggi's remains have yet to be found as pressure mounts on the Saudi government to clarify the circumstances of the dissident, vocal al-Saud critic and
Washington Post journalist's death.
Turkish officials have repeatedly leaked to the media throughout the ongoing investigation which has drawn global media attention and political uproar among the international community.
Authorities in Turkey have yet to confirm or deny the existence of a rumored audio recording of the killing from inside the consulate.
Comment: It's starting to appear as if the Saudi hit team really thought they could get away with this. That makes it slightly less likely that this was a frame-up with the purpose of tarnishing MBS's PR image. That's not to say the murder was premeditated. It still may have been accidental - but the presence of a decoy at least implies they were prepared for Khashoggi's death as a possibility.
And MBS's denials are wearing a bit thin, too, if this latest
allegation proves to be true:
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman phoned Jamal Khashoggi and tried to convince him to return to Riyadh, just moments before the dissident journalist was killed in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate, a new report claims.
The prince contacted Khashoggi shortly after he was detained inside the consulate, Turkish pro-government paper Yeni Safak reported on Sunday, citing its own sources. According to the publication, Mohammad bin Salman, known in the West by his initials MBS, attempted to convince the journalist over the phone to return to his homeland, Saudi Arabia. Once close with the Saudi elites, Khashoggi fled the kingdom last year in fear of possible prosecution.
The journalist declined the prince's offer to fly to Riyadh, thinking he would be arrested and killed there, and was then murdered by the Saudi hit-team after the talk with MBS ended, the paper wrote.
Perhaps MBS wasn't expecting Khashoggi to deny his 'request' as Crown Prince. It's not hard to believe MBS's henchmen then took matters into their own hand, not wishing to displease His Grand Eminence. Or maybe MBS is just arrogant enough to think he could get away with it. In fact, that
may be the case:
As the disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi escalated into a diplomatic crisis, Prince Mohammed was shocked by the backlash. He couldn't understand why Mr. Khashoggi's disappearance was such a big deal, according to people who recently interacted with the prince.
...
On Oct. 10, eight days after Mr. Khashoggi went missing, Prince Mohammed called Jared Kushner, the adviser and son-in-law to President Trump, according to people briefed on the phone conversation.
Why the outrage, Prince Mohammed asked in English.
...
The prince's confusion soon turned into rage. "He was really shocked that there was such a big reaction to it," said a person close to the royal court. "He feels betrayed by the West. He said he would look elsewhere and he will never forget how people turned against him before evidence was produced."
Comment: It's starting to appear as if the Saudi hit team really thought they could get away with this. That makes it slightly less likely that this was a frame-up with the purpose of tarnishing MBS's PR image. That's not to say the murder was premeditated. It still may have been accidental - but the presence of a decoy at least implies they were prepared for Khashoggi's death as a possibility.
And MBS's denials are wearing a bit thin, too, if this latest allegation proves to be true: Perhaps MBS wasn't expecting Khashoggi to deny his 'request' as Crown Prince. It's not hard to believe MBS's henchmen then took matters into their own hand, not wishing to displease His Grand Eminence. Or maybe MBS is just arrogant enough to think he could get away with it. In fact, that may be the case: