Turkey requests permission to search Saudi consulate for missing journalist

Turkish officials on Monday summoned the country’s Saudi ambassador to Ankara to request “full cooperation” from Saudi Arabian leadership in the investigation into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Associated Press reported that Turkish officials have additionally requested permission to search the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where Khashoggi was last seen.

{mosads}Turkish officials believe Khashoggi, who was a Washington Post contributor and a critic of Saudi leadership, was killed at the Saudi consulate. He went missing after visiting the consulate to complete paperwork to marry his Turkish fiancee, the AP reported.

Saudi officials have denied the allegations. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Sunday that he is personally following the case.

Turkish investigators told Reuters on Saturday that they believe Khashoggi was murdered while in the consulate.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is one of the few American officials who has weighed in on Khashoggi’s disappearance, asking in a tweet on Sunday night if the Saudis “killed their leading dissident and critic of their war in Yemen?”

Have the Saudis killed their leading dissident and critic of their war in Yemen? https://t.co/eFpCOepcac

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 7, 2018 

The Washington Post in an editorial on Friday characterized Khashoggi’s disappearance as part of a larger Saudi effort to silence critics. The newspaper also left a column of its editorial section blank to acknowledge Khashoggi’s absence.