Jamal Khashoggi murder: Erdogan calls for trial of 18 suspects in Istanbul; calls it 'well-planned assassination'

Training guns at Saudi Arabia, the Turkish President said that the murder was “planned” days in advance according to a “roadmap” set up by a Saudi team who were sent to Istanbul for the purpose.

Image: Twitter/ @RT_Erdogan

New Delhi: Addressing the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called for  18 Saudi suspects to stand trial in Istanbul. He said all those involved - from the highest degree to the lowest level - will be highlighted and will be brought to punishment, news agency AFP reported. While addressing the lawmakers in Ankara on Tuesday Erdogan said that all those who played a role in the murder of Khashoggi had to face punishment. Training guns at Saudi Arabia, the Turkish President said that the murder was “planned” days in advance according to a “roadmap” set up by a Saudi team who were sent to Istanbul for the purpose. Alleging that the Saudi consulate deactivated the surveillance system, he pointed out that the CCTV footage showed that Khashoggi entered Saudi consulate but in Istanbul but did not leave. He further said that he still wanted answers of numerous unanswered questions including who gave orders to the team and where the corpse is, the agency reported.  The Turkish president said that "all." Calling the murder a 'well-planned assassination', Erdogan said that he has informed the King of Saudi Arabia of Turkey’s joint decision to have a joint investigative group. Khashoggi, a critic of powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, in what sources close to the government have said was likely an authorised rendition that went wrong. Earlier in the day, Turkey's foreign minister had said his country would cooperate with international bodies if they were to launch an independent probe into the killing Saudi Arabia foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir described Khashoggi’s death as a "tremendous mistake". As per reports, he admitted that it had been a "rogue operation" carried out by individuals who "exceeded their responsibilities" and then "tried to cover up for it". On Monday, surveillance footage surfaced which established that a body double was used to cover-up the murder. In the footage aired by the US broadcaster CNN, one person from the 15-member team suspected to be behind the death of Jamal Khashoggi dressed up in his clothes and was captured on surveillance cameras. The man was seen walking around in the scribe's clothes in Istanbul after the murder took place.