'Killers cut Jamal Khashoggi's fingers first, then decapitated him'

Jamal Khashoggi. Pic/AFP

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was tortured before being decapitated inside Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul, pro-government daily Yeni Safak reported on Wednesday, saying it had heard audio recordings.

Khashoggi's alleged killers tortured the journalist during interrogation by cutting his fingers off, Yeni Safak said, claiming it had heard multiple recordings of the incident. The newspaper said Khashoggi was then decapitated.

According to Yeni Safak, Saudi Arabia's consul to Istanbul, Mohammed al-Otaibi, can be heard on one tape saying during Khashoggi's torture: "Do this outside. You are going to get me in trouble." Yeni Safak did not say how the tapes came into existence or how it obtained them.

Meanwhile, online news portal Middle East Eye published a report about how the killing went down. A Turkish source told the website the alleged killing took a total of seven minutes, during which Khashoggi was dragged from the consul-general's office at the Saudi consulate and onto the table of his study next door. A Saudi forensic official then allegedly listened to some music and began cutting up Khashoggi's body, while he was still alive.

Suspects have ties to Mohammed bin Salman
A suspect identified by Turkey in the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a frequent companion of the kingdom's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, The New York Times has reported. Three other suspects are linked to Prince Mohammed's security detail and a fifth is a high-level forensic doctor, the Times said. In its separate report late Tuesday, the Washington Post said 11 of the 15 people which Turkey alleged were involved in Khashoggi's killing have ties to the Saudi security services, including some who claim to be with the Royal Guard.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever