Turkey Ends Search For Jamal Khashoggi’s Body, Believing It Was Dissolved In Acid & Poured Down The Drain

Turkey has suspended its search for the body of murdered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi amidst a rising belief among investigators that the journalist’s dead body was dissolved in acid and poured down the drain, according to Al Jazeera.

Khashoggi went missing last month after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to collect paperwork for his wedding. The subsequent few days witnessed an international media storm as Turkey claimed that it had evidence to prove that Khashoggi was murdered inside the consulate by agents sent by Saudi Arabia. While the Middle Eastern country initially denied the reports, presumably to safeguard the reputation of its crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi officials later admitted to the killing but attributed it to a rogue operation concocted by a few senior officials and their coterie of supporters.

Saudi Arabia has since faced sanctions by its Western allies, who have all demanded that Mohammed bin Salman carry out a swift investigation into Khashoggi’s murder. As a result, Saudi and Turkish administrations began collaborating in an attempt to uncover the truth, but Turkey has complained that Saudi Arabia is not serious about the investigation.

Turkish officials contend that they found traces of acid at the Saudi consul general’s home, which is a walking distance from where Khashoggi was reportedly murdered. As the Inqusitr previously reported, Turkey believes that Khashoggi was strangled immediately after entering the embassy, was dismembered, and that his remains were dissolved in acid and poured down the drain.

Saudi Arabia stopped Turkey from further accessing the premises of its general consul’s home, leading Turkey to end the search for Khashoggi’s body.

Turkish police 'end search' for the body of murdered Saudi jounalist Jamal #Khashoggi https://t.co/86lnUeb40l pic.twitter.com/7zQ5e1h4fY

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) November 10, 2018

Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told Al Jazeera that Turkey has been left disappointed with the mutual investigation process, claiming that top Saudi prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb appeared more interested in finding out what evidence Turkey had in its possession.

“The agreement between the two sides to cooperate in the case raised expectations to shed light on the details of the killing of Khashoggi and who was behind it. But the Saudi officials seem like they have come to Istanbul to be able to obtain the information Turkey has on the murder, rather than mutual sharing of information on the case.”

The fallout has also seen the United States taking action against Saudi Arabia, with Pentagon announcing this week that it would not refuel Saudi aircrafts bombing Yemen. Turkish president Erdogan has claimed that he has shared the audio recording of Khashoggi’s killing with the US, UK, France and Germany.