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TEHRAN, October 27 -Turkey says it is planning to demand Saudi Arabia extradite 18 suspects in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi as international outrage mounts over the murder.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul said on Friday that Istanbul's chief prosecutor had formally written the request for the extradition of the 18 people held in Saudi custody over Khashoggi's murder inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.
"The Turkish authorities are determined and able to solve this case. We expect the extradition," he said in a statement, adding that the suspects would be tried on charges of premeditated murder and torture.
Meanwhile, a senior Turkish official stressed that the country's judicial system "is better equipped to genuinely serve the cause of justice in this case."
“The reasoning behind the extradition request is that Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in Turkey by Saudi nationals who traveled to Turkey for this specific purpose,” he told AFP.
Khashoggi, a supporter-turned-critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, never left the Saudi mission in Istanbul after entering it on October 2.
In a belated acknowledgement, which followed repeated denials, Saudi Arabia finally admitted that Khashoggi had been killed when “discussions” at the consulate turned into “a brawl.”
However, Saudi Arabia's public said that the murder of Khashoggi, a US resident and Washington Post contributor, was premeditated.
Riyadh’s admission of Khashoggi’s murder triggered international outcry and led the kingdom to arrest the 18 people it said were involved in the crime.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that 15 of the 18 men flew from Riyadh to Istanbul on the day Khashoggi disappeared, while the three others were already inside the consulate.
Several of those behind Khashoggi's murder were from bin Salman's personal security staff.
Turkish investigators said they are in possession of recordings that show Khashoggi was tortured before his death and his body dismembered with a bone saw by a Saudi hit squad.
On Friday, Erdogan urged Saudi Arabia to disclose the location of Khashoggi’s body and identify who ordered his killing.
Separately on Friday, a Turkish driver, who transported some of the members of the Saudi hit squad in Istanbul, noted that they appeared “cheerful” on their way from hotel to the airport.
“They asked me for a place to eat and I brought them to a doner restaurant. They were very cheerful. They smoked and drank alcohol in the car,” he said.
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