Turkish President Erdogan promises to reveal the 'naked truth' about Jamal Khashoggi's death
- Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan promised to reveal the "naked truth" regarding journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death on Tuesday.
- "We are looking for justice here and this will be revealed in all its naked truth, not through some ordinary steps but in all its naked truth," Erdogan added.
- Several members of Erdogan's ruling AK Party also vowed not to "allow a cover-up" of what really happened to Khashoggi inside the Istanbul consulate during his final moments.
- Erdogan's statement comes after Saudi Arabia officially admitted that Khashoggi died inside their consulate, claiming that he got into a "fistfight" which turned deadly.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to reveal the "naked truth" about the events leading up to journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death on Tuesday.
"I will make my statement about this issue on Tuesday at the party group meeting," Erdogan said during a speech in Istanbul.
"We are looking for justice here and this will be revealed in all its naked truth, not through some ordinary steps but in all its naked truth".
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia confirmed that the 59-year-old Saudi dissident died inside their consulate. They claimed Khashoggi died after a "fistfight" escalated, and fired 5 top officials and arrested 18 Saudis.
On Sunday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir reiterated the claims, and denied Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had any prior knowledge of what happened inside the Istanbul consulate on October 2.
Turkish officials are conducting their own investigation, and believe Khashoggi was brutally murdered and dismembered, possibly by a 15-person hit squad sent in to confront him at the consulate. Video and audio evidence purported to be from the day of Khashoggi's disappearance reportedly back up these claims.
Erdogan has largely remained silent on the matter, though he noted several inconsistencies in Saudi Arabia's version of the incident.
"Why 15 people came ... why 18 people were detained ... These things have to be told in detail," Erdogan said.
According to Al Jazeera, Erdogan's comments mark the first time a senior official has given an official end date to the ongoing investigations, which has seen conflicting narratives emerge from all sides.
Several members of Erdogan's ruling AK Party vowed on Saturday to reveal the truth about what happened to Khashoggi in his final moments.
Omer Celik, a spokesperson for AK Party, said Turkey was not "accusing anyone in advance, but we don't accept anything to remain covered."
AK Party deputy head Numan Kurtulmus, said Turkey "would not abstain from sharing with the world" its own evidence. He called the case "ugly, frightening, and inhumane" and promised not to "allow a cover-up" of what really happened.
The US, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are continuing their investigations into Khashoggi's death before Trump or the US Senate decide on whether to retaliate against Saudi Arabia.
On Monday, President Trump spoke to Erdogan on the phone and agreed that "all aspects" of the explanation into Jamal Khashoggi's death needed to be "cleared up."