UN official due in Turkey for Khashoggi killing probe

By Bayram Altug

DAVOS, Switzerland (AA) – A UN official on extrajudicial executions will be in Turkey next week for an international probe of last fall's killing of a Saudi journalist in Istanbul, UN sources told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

Agnes Callamard, the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, will be in Turkey from Jan. 28 to Feb. 2 for the probe, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Callamard will be leading the international investigation of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed last October at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Her findings will be reported to the UN Human Rights Council in June, the source added.

Earlier today, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated that Turkey is carrying out a transparent process on the case and that it is important to expose the culprits in the killing.

Citing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks calling for an international probe of the case, Cavusoglu said Callamard would visit Turkey at the end of January.

Khashoggi, a contributor to The Washington Post, was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

After producing various contradictory explanations, Riyadh acknowledged he was killed inside the consulate building, blaming the act on a botched rendition operation.

Turkey has sought the extradition of the Saudi citizens involved in the killing as well as a fuller accounting of the killing from Riyadh.