RIYADH, Oct 13, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s interior minister rejected
Saturday claims there were orders to kill missing Riyadh critic and
journalist Jamal Khashoggi, describing them as “baseless allegations and
lies”.
Prince Abdel Aziz bin Saud bin Nayef added that his country was “in
compliance with international laws and conventions,” the official Saudi Press
Agency reported him saying.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, vanished on October 2 after
entering the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents for his
upcoming marriage.
Turkish police and numerous media have claimed he was tortured and killed
at the consulate.
His case risks hurting not just fragile Turkish-Saudi relations but also
damaging the image of the kingdom and its ties to the West as Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman promotes a reform drive at home.
The Saudi minister, in the first ministerial reaction to the accusations
about Khashoggi’s killing, said he welcomed the cooperation between his
country and Turkey to clarify the circumstances of the disappearance.