ISTANBUL — Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi has been missing for more than 10 days, prompting speculation that he'd been dispatched by his own government.
Khashoggi's fiancee Hatice Cengiz told the New York Times that he had tried to obtain a document on September 28 for their upcoming wedding, but was told by the consulate in Turkey that he had to come back to collect it.
On October 2, nine Saudi officials and intelligence officers arrived in Istanbul via private jet, booking three nights at two hotels near the mission. Around 12:13, vehicles allegedly carrying some of the agents arrived outside the Saudi consulate.
Jamal Khashoggi entered the consulate at 1:14 p.m. after leaving his two phones with his Cengiz, telling her to get help if he didn't come back out.
A Turkish source told the Middle East Eye that shortly after Khashoggi was led into the consul-general's room, two Saudi agents entered and dragged him out. The 59-year-old was taken into another room and later killed. His body was then dismembered with a bone saw in a third room.
Six vehicles carrying the Saudi officials reportedly left the consulate around 4 p.m., while two others drove to the consul's residence nearby, one of them believed to be carrying Khashoggi.
A second jet carrying six more officials arrived past 5, though it departed an hour later for Cairo, and then Riyadh. The first jet left later that night, stopping at Dubai before returning to the Kingdom the next day.
Cengiz waited outside the consulate until 1 a.m., but never saw Khashoggi emerge. She returned again the following day when he still hadn't reappeared.
Turkey has been quick to point the finger at the Saudis, telling the U.S. that they have audio and video recordings proving Khashoggi was killed.
Turkish newspaper Sabah claims Khashoggi's Apple Watch recorded his ordeal inside the consulate and sent it to his phone and iCloud, though many have questioned whether this is technically feasible.
Turkish officials allegedly want to use luminol to check for blood inside the mission, but the Saudis have only allowed a visual probe. The Middle East Eye reports that the prosecutor general is considering digging up the garden of the Saudi consul-general's residence to see if Khashoggi's remains are there.
Riyadh called the allegations baseless and claim the journalist left the consulate through the back, though no evidence has surfaced backing this claim.
They denied sending a team to Istanbul on October 2, even as Sabah published the images and details of the 15 Saudi operatives believed to be involved in the case. According to information corroborated by the New York Times, one of the men is an autopsy expert at the Saudi Interior Ministry, while another is an Air Force lieutenant.
