By Ananya Sharma and Vansh Bali
On October 2nd, Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known journalist and critic of the Saudi government, walked into the country's consulate in Istanbul, where he was murdered. Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor has said that Khashoggi was killed inside the building on the orders of an intelligence officer. Turkish officials however say they have evidence, including gruesome audio recordings, that the journalist was killed by a team of Saudi agents on orders that came from the highest levels. The steady stream of disturbing allegations, along with the complex diplomatic situation, means that it can be difficult to keep track of the full story.
As a prominent journalist, he had covered major stories including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of Osama Bin Laden for various Saudi news organisations. For decades, he was close to the Saudi royal family and also served as an advisor to the government; however, he fell out of favour and went into self-imposed exile in the US last year. From there, he wrote a monthly column in the Washington Post in which he criticised the policies of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In his first column for the newspaper, Khashoggi said he feared being arrested in an apparent crackdown on dissent overseen by the prince since he became first in line to succeed his father King Salman. "The people being arrested are not even being dissidents, they just have an independent mind," he told the BBC's NewsHour programme three days before.
He first visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 28 September to obtain a document certifying that he had divorced his ex-wife so that he could marry his Turkish fiancée. But he was told he would have to return and arranged to come back on 2nd October. "He did not believe that something bad could happen on Turkish soil," his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, wrote in the Washington Post. "Jamal was hardly concerned ahead of his second visit."
He was seen on CCTV arriving at 13:14 local time for his appointment, which was scheduled for 13:30. He reportedly told friends that he had been treated "very warmly" on his first visit and reassured them that he would not face any problems. Despite this, he gave Ms Cengiz two mobile phones and told her to call an advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan if he did not come back out.
Was this an act of revenge by the Crown Prince or an innocent death? Nothing Is certain but all we know is that we cannot trust him easily.
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