Khashoggi’s body was dissolved in acid, says top Turkish adviser

Jamal Khashoggi’s body was dissolved in acid after being dismembered in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate, according to fresh claims made by a Turkish official earlier today.

A top presidential adviser has said that he believes the act was the "only logical conclusion" to the killing of the former Saudi critic, who was murdered inside the Kingdom’s consulate early last month.

The allegations are the latest to emerge following the Saudi admission a fortnight ago that Khashoggi was killed within the consulate, despite previously denying such allegations.

Yasin Aktay, who advises president Recep Tayyp Erdoğan, told a Turkish paper: “We now see that it wasn’t just cut up; [the Saudi suspects] got rid of the body by dissolving it,”

Aktay added: “According to the latest information we have, the reason they cut up the body is it was easier to dissolve it. They aimed to ensure no sign of the body was left…Killing an innocent person is one crime, the treatment and extent of what was done to the body is another crime and dishonour.”

Such comments are likely to pile further pressure on the Saudi Kingdom, which has suffered a major backlash from businesses and politicians in the wake of Khashoggi’s death, with concerns that Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s inner team were directly linked to the Saudi reporter’s death.

No forensic evidence has been provided to prove that the dissident journalist’s body was dissolved, and searches for the body in a forest near the consulate remain ongoing.