Turkey’s Erdogan accuses Saudi agents of killing missing journalist
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan today accused Saudi Arabian agents of the “premeditated” killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Khashoggi was last seen alive entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.
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Several groups of Saudi intelligence officers had arrived in the country the day before Khashoggi died, Erdogan said in a speech about Turkey's investigation into the Washington Post journalist's disappearance.
The officers had removed the hard drive from the security cameras in the consulate before inviting the journalist there, he added. They were allowed to leave the country as they have diplomatic immunity.
Erdogan said: “It is clear that there was a premeditated roadmap and some of the staff of the consulate hurried back into their country afterwards.”
He continued: “This murder may have been committed on Saudi soil, however this was inside Turkish borders.”
“So far the facts and evidence shows that Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a very cruel murder,” he said, calling on the Saudis to collaborate with Turkey's investigation and be held legally responsible for their actions.
He also said the alleged perpetrators should be tried in Istanbul.
It comes as Softbank chief executive Masayoshi Son has cancelled his speech at the Saudi investor conference following the death of the journalist, according to reports.
The Future Investment Initiative is due to start today, but Masayoshi – also a member of the summit's advisory board – is the latest high profile figure to withdraw from the event, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Business leaders have been cancelling their scheduled trips to Riyadh amid the ongoing investigation into the death of Khashoggi, a US resident and prominent critic of the Saudi government.
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Softbank's $93bn Vision Fund to invest in tech firms was half-funded by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.
On Monday it emerged that Softbank's chief operating officer, Marcelo Claure, had pulled out of the conference.
Claure reportedly asked organisers to remove his name from the speakers' list and informed them he would not be attending.
Chief executives of Uber, Mastercard, Ford, JP Morgan and Google have all withdrawn as well as finance ministers from a number of countries.