Saudi Arabia admitted on Saturday that Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who was declared missing for over two tweeks, died at its consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
A statement by the Saudi public prosecutor said Khashoggi died after he was embroiled in a “fist fight” with some unnamed individuals at the consulate.
“The results of the preliminary investigations revealed that the discussions that took place with the citizen / Jamal Khashoggi during his presence in the Consulate of the Kingdom in Istanbul by the suspects did not go as required and escalated negatively which led to a fight between them and the citizen / Jamal Khashoggi, which aggravated the situation and led to his death”, a statement on the website of the Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry read.
The statement also disclosed that two senior officials; royal court adviser Saud al-Qahtani and deputy intelligence chief Ahmed Asiri have been dismissed, and 18 persons of Saudi nationality have been arrested and are under investigation.
King Salman, the Saudi ruler, also ordered the formation of a ministerial committee headed by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to restructure the general intelligence agency, state media said.
This is the first time the Saudis have acknowledged the disappearance and eventual death of Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the crown prince and columnist for Washington Post, since his disappearance on October 2.
Immediately the incident came to the global spotlight, the Saudis insisted that Khashoggi left the consulate the same day he visited.
However, Turkey asked for proof from Saudi Arabia, maintaining that something suspicious might have happened to the journalist.
Through anonymous sources, Turkey continued to leak vital information to both its local and the international press regarding the investigation, indicating that Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi Consulate the same day he walked into the building.
US President Donald Trump said Saudi Arabia was a “great ally” but that what happened in Istanbul was “unacceptable.”
He also said he would work with the US Congress to evaluate the decision and decide on the next course of action, but ruled out cancelling his much-touted $110 billion sales of arms and ammunition to Saudi Arabia.
“I’d rather keep the million jobs [in the US] and find another solution,” he said.
But pressure is piling on President Trump from lawmakers, including prominent Republicans like Senator Linsday Graham, who said he was “sceptical” about the circumstances of Khashoggi’s death as narrated by the Saudis.
The disappearance of Khashoggi has also strained relations between Saudi Arabia and Western allies. Arab allies have rallied to Riyadh’s support, but Western pressure has intensified on Saudi Arabia to provide convincing answers.
The pressure from Western allies was evident in the withdrawal of over 30 major personalities and companies, including Ministers from the US, France, UK and the Netherlands, from the Future Investment Summit, popularly known as the “Davos in the Desert”, which Riyadh is expected to host next week.