Khashoggi Strangled and His Body 'Subsequently Destroyed'

In what is being viewed as the first official Turkish explanation of what happened to Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, Turkey's public prosecutor on Wednesday said the journalist was strangled "as soon as he entered the consulate" and his body "subsequently destroyed by being dismembered." Irfan Fidan described it as a premeditated plan. The Washington Post notes Fidan's statement included the word "bogulmak," which can also be defined as suffocation. The Guardian sees the line about the destruction of Khashoggi's body as "bolstering Turkish investigators' line of thought" on what may have been done with the remains, with theories including that they were dissolved in acid or thrown down a well.

The two-page statement from Fidan's office comes after his Saudi counterpart, Saud al-Mojeb, departed after two days of meeting in Istanbul. Al-Mojeb reportedly didn't reveal the location of Khashoggi's remains during his visit. The AP adds that the statement said meetings with al-Mojeb produced no "concrete results" despite Turkey's "good intentions to uncover the truth." Per the Guardian, the statement said al-Mojeb had vowed to give "same-day" answers but didn't cooperate on the following points: extraditing 18 Saudi suspects, discussing the plotting that preceded the murder, or providing the name of an alleged local collaborator. (Khashoggi's son's request was granted last week.)