The death of Adnan Khashoggi inside the Saudi embassy in Ankara has stirred a hornet's nest. Much of the credit for unraveling the brutal killing and dismemberment of the body inside the Saudi embassy must go to the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He followed up the disappearance of the journalist a known critic of Saudi Arabia and crown prince Salman with great zeal and Turkish investigating agencies were able to unravel the sequence of events that led to the killing of Khashoggi. Turkish intelligence also shared the information with other agencies like the CIA.
The Telegraph has reported that the CIA has "concluded" that the highest authority in Saudi Arabia probably gave the order to kill the journalist and directly points the finger at Crown Prince Salman himself.
Allegations
The allegation is that the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly ordered the assassination of the journalist.
It is now revealed that Khashoggi, was lured into the embassy with assurances that he would be safe but at the same time a diabolical plot was hatched to kill him. The Chicago Tribune has reported that the CIA has revealed that the Saudi Ambassador to the USA, Khalid Bin Salman who is the brother of the Crown Prince reportedly received a call from the crown prince to take steps to kill the journalist.
How verifiable is this news? It is reported that this call was intercepted by the CIA as reported by the Washington Post.
Crown prince
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied that the Crown Prince had any involvement in the death of Khashoggi, who had been a fierce critic of Mohammed bin Salman.
The latest revelation will jack up pressure on Donald Trump who has seemed to be soft on Saudi Arabia for geopolitical reasons as it is the foremost US ally against Iran.
Mr. Trump had earlier claimed that the murder was probably the handiwork of rogue agents.
The Crown Prince has put himself in soup. He had tried to make a name as a man who was out to take the kingdom from archaic times to the modern age. The killing of Khashoggi inside the embassy in Turkey which has recently decided to purchase Russian military hardware, will, however, act as a dampener to his ambitions.
The international outcry over the murder of Khashoggi has put the prince and the Saudi intelligence agencies in the dock.
Future
The kingdom has tried to show some transparency by arresting 11 people, and the prosecutor has asked for the death penalty for five of them. It's a moot point if these sentences will ever be carried as the revelations show that the trail of the killing leads right to the highest echelons of the Saudi monarchy. Saudi Arabia will be under pressure as it already faces a lot of dissents that could even lead to a civil war.
