Saudis insist missing Post contributor left Turkey consulate
ISTANBUL — Saudi Arabia’s Consulate in Istanbul insisted Thursday that a missing Saudi contributor to The Washington Post left its building before disappearing, directly contradicting Turkish officials who say they believe the writer is still inside.
The comments further deepen the mystery surrounding what happened to Jamal Khashoggi, who had been living in self-imposed exile in the U.S. while writing columns critical of the kingdom and its policies under upstart Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Khashoggi’s disappearance also threatened to further harm relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which are on opposite sides of an ongoing four-nation boycott of Qatar and other regional crises. Turkey summoned the Saudi ambassador to its Foreign Ministry on Thursday over the writer’s disappearance, said an official who requested anonymity in line with government rules.
In a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, the consulate did not challenge that Khashoggi, 59, had disappeared while on a visit to the diplomatic post.