INS Monitoring Desk:
The Saudi consul General,Mohammad al-Otaibi,left the country with his family for Riyadh on Tuesday after the announcement that his residence in Istanbul would become part of the criminal investigation reports The Gaurdian.
As a part of the operation, floodlights and a drone were deployed in the search of the Saudi consul generals residence after the Turkish investigators were finally allowed access to the property,where its believed a Saudi hit squad sent to silence the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi disposed of his remains.
The Gaurdian while quoting local news agencies in Istanbul also reported that the search for Khashoggi’s body had been extended to two woodland areas outside the city, significantly increasing the geographical scope of the investigation.
The vast expanse of Belgrad Forest and farmland in Yalova province were new leads for police after investigators used surveillance footage from hundreds of cameras around the city to determine whether vehicles owned by the Saudi consulate had travelled there late on 2 October, the day Khashoggi vanished.
A Turkish forensic science team left the consul general’s residence early on Thursday after conducting a nine-hour sweep of the building and of consular vehicles. The consulate was also searched for a second time.
Of particular focus to investigators appeared to be the garage below the consul general’s home, and parts of the property’s garden were dug up.
It was not immediately clear what the search revealed, but investigators took several boxes and bags away with them. The Turkish interior ministry promised the results would be “shared with the world”.
Meanwhile video recordings leaked to Turkish pro-government newspaper Sabah drew another link between a suspect in the case and the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin salman, who denies any knowledge of Khashoggi’s alleged murder.
As the investigation into Khashoggi’s suspected murder continued,President Donald Trump’s administration took its first step to distance itself from the Saudi regime. The treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, announced that he would not be attending this weeks government sponsored investment conference in Riyadh,joining an exodus of western corporate leaders.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who moved to the US in self-imposed exile last year, has not been seen since he visited the consulate on 2 October to pick up paperwork for his planned marriage.
