Turkish prosecutors seek arrest of Saudi officials for Khashoggi killing

Turkish authorities have called for the arrest of the Saudi head of foreign intelligence and a top aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The chief prosecutor in Istanbul has filed arrest warrants after concluding there was “strong suspicion” that Saud al-Qahtani and General Ahmed al-Asiri were involved in planning the murder of the Washington Post columnist, sources told Reuters.

The pair were removed from their positions in October after they were fingered as suspects in the killing of Khashoggi.

“The prosecution's move to issue arrest warrants for Asiri and Qahtani reflects the view that the Saudi authorities won’t take formal action against those individuals,” a Turkish official said.

Khashoggi was killed when he visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

The regime critic was trying to get his papers in order for his upcoming wedding while his fiance waited outside, but was never seen or heard from again.

Following a briefing by the CIA, US senators said yesterday they are more certain than ever that Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was responsible for the killing.

Saudi Arabia's chief prosecutor has denied that Salman was aware of a plan to kill Khashoggi.