Turkey summons Saudi ambassador over missing journalist

ISTANBUL: Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Turkey was on Thursday summoned to the foreign ministry after a prominent journalist critical of Riyadh went missing, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

Jamal Khashoggi, a contributor to the Washington Post, went to the Saudi consulate on Tuesday to receive an official document for his marriage and has not appeared since then.

His Turkish fiancee reported him missing after the journalist, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the US since last year to avoid possible arrest, was not seen after he entered the consulate on Tuesday afternoon for marriage procedures.

After an initial period of silence Saudi Arabia said the consulate was working with Turkish authorities "to uncover the circumstances of the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi after he left the consulate building".

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin however told reporters on Wednesday the journalist was being held at the consulate, adding that Ankara was in touch with Saudi officials.

The US State Department said it was investigating the matter.

Khashoggi's fiancee told AFP that there had been no news about the journalist. "We don't know where he is. If he had left the consulate as said by the Saudis, we would know where he is," she said.