-The fate of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi,
who now we know for certain was murdered
in the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul --
and I will try and be thorough
in my assessment of what happened.
First of all, I would like to honor the memory
of the late Jamal Khashoggi.
May his soul rest in peace.
And I extend my condolences to his fiancée,
to his family, to his friends, to the people of Saudi Arabia,
of which he was a citizen,
and to the media world in general.
Now, let's do a refresh of our memory, if you will,
as regards what has happened, Jamal Khashoggi.
For the first time, on the 28th of September, Friday, at 11:50,
goes into the chief consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul
for marriage-related reasons.
And it is now understood that this visit of Khashoggi --
the information was given to the team
that planned and executed the murder of the journalist.
So that was the beginning of that planning phase.
And some consulate officers,
officials actually left for their countries in a haste,
and this points in the direction that some preparation work
was indeed done on October 1 at 16:30,
a day before the operation -- Monday, that is.
Half past 4:00 in the afternoon,
a team of three comes to Istanbul
through a scheduled flight, a commercial flight.
They go to a hotel first and, then, to the consulate.
So, in the meantime, another team of people
from the consulate
go on an exploration mission to the Belgrad Forest
and to the city of Yalova.
On the 2nd of October, at 1:45 a.
m. , a team of three people again
took a scheduled flight to Istanbul
and went to their hotel.
A third team of nine people, including generals,
took a private plane, landed at the airport,
and went to another hotel for the night.
So, overall, the team we're looking at
is a total of 15 people, and this team of people,
from 9:50 to 11:00 a. m.
, they come in different groups to the consulate and meet there.
The first thing they do is to remove the hard disk
and the camera system of the consulate,
and in the meantime,
Jamal Khashoggi was telephoned at 11:50
to confirm his appointment on that day.
On the same day, at early hours,
Khashoggi comes from London to Istanbul and enters, on foot,
into the consular building at 13:08.
The fiancée was with him at that point in time,
and after that point in time,
no information was obtained from him.
No news of him came out.
At 17:15 that day, in the evening hours,
the fiancée, Mr. Khashoggi's fiancée,
resorts to the official authorities of our country,
telling the authorities that Mr. Khashoggi
was being held at the consular building against his will
and that something bad might have happened to him,
upon which the relevant units of the director-general
of the Turkish National Police in Istanbul
start the investigation.
They have a look at the security cameras, examine the footage,
and it becomes certain at that point in time
that Mr. Khashoggi
indeed did not leave the consular building.
And of course, as per the Vienna Convention,
they have diplomatic immunity, but, of course,
now that's also being discussed. Ms.
Mogherini also made a statement about this point,
so this Vienna Convention will probably need to be
discussed and revised.
So, due to this diplomatic immunity, initially,
no concrete step was taken vis-à-vis
the building and the officials of the consulate,
so the Turkish National Police and our intelligence
start looking into the matter in depth,
and the office of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor
appoints an acting prosecutor,
and they initiate the investigation.
Of course, as more in-depth information is collected,
things start getting interesting.
First of all, starting from the day
prior to the day of the murder, different planes
were taken by a total of 15 Saudi safety, intelligence,
and forensics experts who came to our country.
Six of this team leave on October 2 at 18:20.
Seven of them leave on the same day at 22:50,
taking private planes.
And, also, another person who was given the impression
or the look of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi,
with his outfit, with his glasses,
and the beard --
this individual and the individual accompanying him
also took a scheduled flight after midnight to Riyadh.
And on the day of the incident,
the personnel working at the consulate
and the residents were gathered together,
and the explanation given to them was
that there was an inspection going on then.
They were let go that day.
They were asked to leave.
So the administration of Saudi Arabia
first rejected the claims on October 4
that Khashoggi was killed,
and the chief consulate officer actually invites on October 6
a correspondent of Reuters inside the consular building,
and he opens and closes doors of cupboards,
the utility panes, and different areas of the consular office.
But, of course, that was done in a manner
that was far from being serious.
But in the meantime, our national police,
our intelligence services, our prosecution services
continued to concentrate on their investigations,
obtaining information and documentation,
and our ministry of foreign affairs
also was in constant communication
with their counterparts to discuss the issue
and to share information.
On October 11, there was a group of special representatives
who came to our country from Saudi Arabia,
and different contacts were made with them.
And, of course, after the matter being kept on the agenda
by our community, by our press community,
by the global media focusing on this issue,
the consular services allowed the consular
premises to be searched.
Of course, they are friends.
We have to ask certain questions
and find answers to these questions,
because this incident happened in Istanbul,
and we have as a result responsibility.
So we, as people of responsibility,
we have the right to ask these questions.
As things start to clarify,
of course other countries started taking action.
And at every opportunity, of course, we have made it clear
that we will not remain silent in the face of this murder
and that we will take every step required
by our conscience and by the law.
On top of that, of course, we had to wait
for the end of the examinations and the investigations
so that we would not false-incriminate anyone.
His excellency, the King of Saudi Arabia,
Salman bin Abdulaziz,
the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques --
we had a phone conversation with him
for the first time on the 14th of October,
and I explained to him the present situation
in light of the information we had at that point in time.
And during this telephone conversation,
I actually explained to him the talks
we had with the special delegation of representatives
he had previously sent,
and I informed him of our joint decision
to have a joint investigative group.
And we had an agreement on the fact
that this would be the path to follow.
Upon the instructions of the king,
teams from the prosecution service
and from our Turkish National Police
went into the consular premises and did some examination.
Of course, before that, it was not allowed
by the consular officials.
And when that first team of representatives
came and talked to me,
I explained certain things to this team of representatives
as to how insufficient and incompetent the consul was.
And I'd conveyed the same message
to his excellency, the king, as well.
So after that conversation the following day,
the consul general was removed from his position.
In the meantime, the consul general,
while he was in Istanbul, had to go back to his country.
He left.
So there was another round of examinations in the consular
premises on the 18th of October.
On the 19th of October -- that is to say
17 days after the murder --
the Saudi administration officially admitted
that Jamal Khashoggi was murdered
inside the consular premises, inside the consular building.
In the statement from the administration,
it was mentioned that Khashoggi died
during a brawl that erupted in the building.
On the same day, in later hours of the day,
I had another phone conversation with the king,
Salman bin Abdulaziz.
He told me that after the acknowledgement of the murder,
18 people who were implicated were arrested.
That was the information he provided to me.
And the individuals on the list
that was provided to our country,
well, we found out that they were the same names
as determined by our security
and national-intelligence services,
so this team of 15 people, plus 3 others.
These three others were already consular officials.
So, of course this development is important in the sense
that the murder was officially acknowledged and accepted.
On the 21st of October, I had a comprehensive phone conversation
with President Trump of the United States of America,
and we had an agreement that the incident needs
to be clarified in all of its aspects.
Of course, as the government of Turkey, as the state of Turkey,
we have handled this whole process in compliance
with the seriousness of these state matters and affairs,
international law, and the legislation of our country.
Despite this being the case, of course, certain media outlets
conducted a campaign in order to blame our country
and implicate our country and to shift focus,
shift the attention of the people.
And we know full well who was behind this campaign
and what their purpose was.
Of course, these attempts to assassinate the nature of,
seriousness that our country has shown has not kept us
from fully investigating what has happened.
Well, before everything, this murder, yes,
was indeed committed in the Saudi consular building,
which is considered as Saudi soil.
But one must not forget that that area
is within the boundaries of the Republic of Turkey.
Also, the Vienna Convention
and other rules of international law
do not allow the investigation of such a vicious murder
to be prevented by resorting
to the shield of diplomatic immunity.
And, of course, we will investigate this murder,
which was committed inside our country in all of its aspects.
We will look into it, and we will do whatever is necessary.
On the other hand, of course,
Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi national,
but on top of that, he was a world-renowned journalist.
And this, of course, gives us an international responsibility.
On top of her own sovereignty rights,
Turkey will be persistent in the follow-up of this incident
on behalf of the international community
and as a representative of the joint conscience of mankind.
The information and the evidence
that we have so far collected indicate
that Jamal Khashoggi was slain in a vicious, violent murder.
Whitewashing such barbarity will of course injure
and wound the conscience of all humanity,
and we are of course looking forward to the same sensitivity
being demonstrated by the administration of Saudi Arabia
and all other parties to this affair.
Dear friends, the Saudi Arabian administration
took an important step by acknowledging
and admitting the murder,
and now our expectation from them going forward
is that all those responsible, from the highest degree,
highest level to the lowest level,
will be highlighted, will be brought to justice
and will get the punishment they deserve.
And there are indeed strong signs
that the incident was not a momentary issue
or a momentary result of something that erupted on-site,
but, rather, the result of a planned operation.
And, of course, in light of the existing information,
the following questions still are relevant.
So, all 15 people who have backgrounds that are in one way
or another connected to what happened or what was planned,
why was this team of people assembled in Istanbul
on that day, on the day of the murder?
Who gave the instruction to these individuals
to come to Istanbul?
We are looking for an answer to this question, as well.
Why was the consular premises
not opened to examinations on that day
or the following day, but many days later?
We need an answer to this.
Now, as it is now clear, of course, there was a murder,
and it was clear from the beginning,
then why was there a slurry of incoherent statements?
And now there is official acknowledgement
that there was a murder, where is the body?
Why do we still not have the body?
If the information that the body was given
to a local cooperator, co-conspirator --
and this is information by an authority, by the way --
now, my question is, who is this local co-conspirator?
Because it's not an ordinary person
mentioned in this local co-conspirator.
It is a person of authority from Saudi Arabia
who made that statement.
So you have to reveal the identity of this
local co-conspirator.
You will do this.
Before these questions are answered,
no one should have the faintest idea
that what happened will be covered up.
So, there is of course some additional information
that is now being assessed
by our security and intelligence services,
but of course that information also points to the fact
that the incident was preplanned, premeditated.
As the examination of these bits
and pieces of information is complete,
it will of course make its way into the official investigation
filed by the prosecution services.
Of course, we cannot put the blame
on a number of security
or intelligence officials for such an incident.
It will not satisfy either us or the international community,
and the international conscience will only be satisfied
when everyone is held accountable,
the executors and the persons
or the people who gave the instruction.
Personally, I do not doubt the sincerity of his excellency,
the King Salman bin Abdulaziz,
custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
However, it is very, very important
that there is a truly impartial
and just delegation that does the investigation
looking into what has happened.
And since this is a political murder,
if there are other people
or circles implicated in other countries,
they have to be included in that investigation, as well.
This is a requirement of international law,
Islamic law, and I also believe that a requirement of the law,
of the land of Saudi Arabia.
As Turkey, we will continue to follow-up on this matter,
and whatever is required by our own laws and international law,
we will make sure that those steps are taken.
Also, let me make a call here today.
Here's the call.
This is a call to his excellency,
the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz,
custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,
and, of course, the senior officials of the administration.
Now, this incident took place in Istanbul.
Therefore, this team of 15 plus 3, 18 people,
I'm proposing that their trials be held in Istanbul.
Of course, it's their prerogative.
It's their appreciation.
But this is my recommendation.
This is my suggestion, because this is where
the incident happened.