CCTV shows Saudi operative 'dressed in Jamal Khashoggi's clothes and wearing fake beard and glasses after he was killed'

Jamal Khashoggi, left, seen entering the Saudi consulate, and right - a man said to be a Saudi operative wearing a fake beard, glasses and the dissident's suit
David Gardner22 October 2018

CCTV footage reveals an extraordinary attempt to cover up the alleged assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi death squad.

The video appears to show a body double wearing Mr Khashoggi’s clothes walking out of the building where the Washington Post columnist was murdered shortly after he disappeared.

The images obtained by CNN from Turkish officials show a member of the 15-strong Saudi “hit squad” leaving the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by the back door, wearing Mr Khashoggi’s clothes, a fake beard, and glasses, it is claimed.

The surveillance video appears to reveal dramatic new details about the fate of Mr Khashoggi, whom the Saudi government has now admitted was murdered after entering the consulate to complete paperwork required for him to marry his fiancee.

“Khashoggi’s clothes were probably still warm when Madani put them on,” a senior Turkish official told the American network.

The man in the video, identified by the official as Mustafa al-Madani, was used as a decoy for the journalist in an apparent cover-up, according to the Turkish official.

A Saudi operative was seen allegedly dressed as Khashoggi after his killing
AP Photo/Virginia Mayo

He is spotted entering the consulate two hours before Mr Khashoggi arrived on October 2 without a beard, wearing a blue and white checked shirt and dark blue trousers.

Khashoggi seen entering the Saudi consulate
AP

The same man, it is claimed, then left the building four hours later wearing Mr Khashoggi’s dark blazer, grey shirt opened at the collar and trousers.

According to Turkish investigators, he was later spotted at the city’s famous Blue Mosque back in his original clothes, while an accomplice carries a plastic bag believed to contain Mr Khashoggi’s outfit.

Saudi Arabia earlier admitted for the first time that missing journalist Mr Khashoggi was murdered.

He was pictured talking to his fiancee for the final time at the gates before heading inside
AP

They also vowed to punish the killers behind what it claims was a “rogue operation”.

Coming nearly three weeks after the Washington Post columnist’s disappearance, the Saudi response to the scandal has been met with scepticism, with President Trump saying: “Their stories are all over the place.”

But in a bid to quell growing criticism of the desert kingdom, its foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir has given the first Saudi acknowledgment of Mr Khashoggi’s murder.

Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir today made the first acknowledgment of Mr Khashoggi’s murder
PA

In an interview with Fox News in the US, Mr Al-Jubeir claimed there had been a “tremendous mistake” and insisted Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in the dark about the operation beforehand. “The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority,” he said. “There obviously was a tremendous mistake made, and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up. That is unacceptable in any government.

“We are determined to uncover every stone. We are determined to find out all the facts. And we are determined to punish those who are responsible for this murder. Even the senior leadership of the intelligence service was not aware of this.”

Mr Al-Jubeir claimed Saudi Arabia still did not know what happened to the body of the US-based dissident, last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to complete paperwork required for him to marry his fiancee.

According to sources in Turkey, Mr Khashoggi was killed by a team of agents inside the consulate. Eighteen men have been arrested by the Saudis in connection with the killing.

After weeks of denying any knowledge of his disappearance, a Saudi official yesterday claimed Mr Khashoggi died in a chokehold after resisting attempts to seize him inside the consulate and his body was then reportedly rolled in a rug and disposed of by an alleged “co-conspirator”. The UK, Germany and France have all condemned the killing and demanded a full explanation. Germany also today urged the UK and other EU members to follow its example and suspend arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned he plans to reveal the “naked truth” about what happened to his parliament tomorrow.

Meanwhile it emerged today that the crown prince called Mr Khashoggi’s eldest son to express his condolences. The Wall Street Journal reported that the prince was shocked by the backlash to the killing and did not understand why it was “such a big deal”.

“He feels betrayed by the West. He said he will never forget how people turned against him before evidence was produced,” according to the WSJ story.

Mr Trump said that “obviously there’s been deception and there’s been lies” but he restated his support for the prince and admitted he would “love it” if it was proved the Saudi heir had nothing to do with the killing.

He praised him as someone with “very good control”, but added: “Nobody has told me he’s responsible. Nobody has told me he’s not responsible. We haven’t reached that point. I haven’t heard either way.”

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