Washington : One of the suspects identified by Turkey in the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a frequent companion of the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the media reported. Three other suspects were linked to Prince Mohammed’s security detail and a fifth was a forensic doctor, holding senior positions in the Saudi Interior Ministry and medical establishment, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. One suspect, Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, was a diplomat assigned to the Saudi Embassy in London in 2007, according to a British diplomatic roster.
He travelled extensively with the Crown Prince, perhaps as a bodyguard, the report said. As per the Times, the other three suspects were Abdulaziz Mohammed al-Hawsawi, a member of the security team that travels with the crown prince; Thaar Ghaleb al-Harbi, and Muhammed Saad Alzahrani. Two people with the same names, Al-Harbi and Alzahrani, were identified as members of the Saudi Royal Guard, the Times said. The fifth suspect was Salah al-Tubaigy, an autopsy expert, who the Times said identified himself on Twitter as the head of the Saudi Scientific Council of Forensics. Meanwhile, a CNN report said the Saudi operation that resulted in the apparent death of Khashoggi in Istanbul, Turkey, was organised by a high-ranking officer with Saudi Arabia’s main intelligence service, the General Intelligence Presidency.
The report described the officer as close to the inner circle of the Saudi Crown Prince. These developments raise doubts about US President Donald Trump’s claim that the journalist may have been murdered by “rogue killers”. He has been refraining from pointing a finger at Saudi Arabia, one of Washington’s principal allies in the Middle East. Cautioning against rushing to blame Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi’s disappearance, Trump said King Salman strongly denied to him any knowledge of what happened. Riyadh was being treated as “guilty until proven innocent”. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara about missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.