Turkey Demands Extradition of 18 Saudis Over Khashoggi Killing

Erdogan demands Saudis disclose who order the murder

Turkish prosecutors have issued extradition requests for 18 people from Saudi Arabia suspected of participating in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi earlier this month at the Istanbul consulate.

Specifics of who is being requested is unclear, but it is believed to include the 15-man kill team that Turkey identified as having arrived in the country for the killing and departed more or less immediately thereafter.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also requesting that the Saudis offer more transparency, and reveal who actually have the orders to kill Khashoggi. In particular, he wants to know who sent the kill team.

It is widely suspected this was orchestrated by the Saudi crown prince, though the Saudis are desperate to avoid such an admission. Erdogan has warned that Turkey may make more of the evidence that they’ve already gathered public if the Saudis don’t start offering more help in getting to the bottom of the matter.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.