(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia has begun an internal investigation into the disappearance of a prominent journalist at its Istanbul consulate and could hold people accountable if the evidence warrants it, according to a Saudi official.
King Salman at the weekend ordered the Saudi public prosecutor to investigate the fate of Jamal Khashoggi, partly due to information received from Turkish authorities, the Saudi official said on Monday. He spoke anonymously because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter. While Saudi Arabia and Turkey have already said they would cooperate in a joint investigation, this would be a separate inquiry, the official said.
After gathering information from the Turks and the joint team, “the feeling from the leadership was we needed an internal investigation to make sure we’re getting the right story here,” the official said.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor who was critical of the Saudi leadership, was last seen entering the consulate on Oct 2. Turkish authorities have said he was killed there, a claim that Saudi Arabia has vehemently denied. In an interview the day after the disappearance, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he believed that Khashoggi left the consulate shortly after entering.
The incident is threatening to spark a geopolitical crisis as the U.S. and Turkey demand answers from Saudi Arabia, and the kingdom vows to retaliate to any punitive measures imposed over the critic’s fate. The Saudi response triggered speculation the world’s biggest exporter of oil may break with decades-old policy by using its crude as a political weapon.
The Saudi government’s Center for International Communication did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Vivian Nereim in Riyadh at vnereim@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Paul Abelsky
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
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