'Silence Jamal Khashoggi,' Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Instructed, Report Claims

Turkish news website Hurriyet Daily News reported Thursday the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has a phone call recording of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman giving an instruction to “silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible.”

Hürriyet columnist Abdulkadir Selvi wrote CIA director Gina Haspel had "signaled" the existence of the recording during a visit to Ankara last month.

The prominent Turkish columnist cited an unidentified source saying two Saudi officials were also heard discussing the “discomfort” created by Khashoggi’s public criticism of Saudi’s administration in the CIA recording.

Khashoggi, a permanent United States resident and contributor to the Washington Post, was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October. The Turkish government alleged Saudi had dispatched a 15-member team to kill the journalist while he was inside the consulate. It also reportedly had recordings to prove Khashoggi was killed in the consulate.

The U.S. and Turkish officials told Washington Post a video recording showed a Saudi security team detaining Khashoggi inside the consulate.

“The voice recording from inside the embassy lays out what happened to Jamal after he entered. You can hear his voice and the voices of men speaking Arabic. You can hear how he was interrogated, tortured and then murdered,” an official said.

Post this, reports suggested his body parts were found in a well in the residence of the Saudi consul general.

"Reliable sources from the Istanbul security service told me that the body of Khashoggi was found in a well, which is located in a garden in the residence of the Saudi consul general," Turkish Patriotic Party leader Dogu Perincek said.

Sky News quoted sources saying the body parts showed the journalist was cut up and his face was disfigured.

Saudi initially denied any role in the disappearance; however, later admitted the prominent critic of Prince Mohammed was killed inside the consulate. But, it denied the royal family’s involvement in the murder.

“It is said that the crown prince gave an instruction to silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible and this instruction was captured during the CIA wiretapping. The subsequent murder is the ultimate confirmation of this instruction,” Selvi said.

She added international investigation into the killing can “reveal more jaw-dropping evidence, as CIA has more wiretapped phone calls at hand than the public knows about.”

“It could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn’t! We may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” President Donald Trump said in a statement Tuesday, the New York Times reported.