Saudi Prosecutors Now Claiming Killing of Jamal Khashoggi Was Premeditated

Saudi officials are now claiming that the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was premeditated.

Roughly three weeks ago Khashoggi went missing after visiting a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey and was eventually revealed to have been killed. The admission that his killing was planned is a stunning admission after Saudi officials first claimed his death was accidental, providing the explanation that he lost his life in a fist fight gone wrong.

Reports of a grizzly torture and dismemberment have surfaced, and that parts of Khashoggi’s body were found in a garden behind the consulate where he was murdered.

This admission comes shortly after CIA Director Gina Haspel visited Turkey and reportedly listened to an audio recording of the journalist being interrogated and killed, according to The Washington Post .

Saudi Arabia‘s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, claimed on Wednesday that Khashoggi’s killers would be brought to justice, before warning anyone against trying to “manipulate” the crisis to drive a wedge between the kingdom and Turkey.

Earlier on Wednesday President, Donald Trump said that if anyone in the kingdom’s power structure had known about the plot, “it would be” the crown prince.

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