A/HRC/41/CRP.1 investigators were granted a warrant to search the Consulate, but were unable to execute it because of the authorities’ concerns regarding diplomatic immunity. 116. On 5 October, in an interview with Bloomberg, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was asked about Jamal Khashoggi. The Crown Prince insisted that Mr. Khashoggi had left the Consulate and that the Saudi authorities were working with their Turkish counterparts to identify what happened. “We hear the rumors about what happened. He’s a Saudi citizen and we are very keen to know what happened to him. And we will continue our dialogue with the Turkish government to see what happened to Jamal there.” 61 Pressed on whether Mr. Khashoggi faced charges in Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince responded “Actually, we need to know where Jamal is first.” Asked again, he said “If he’s in Saudi Arabia I would know that.” 117. On 6 October, the Consul General Alotaibi took Reuters’ journalists to tour the Consulate to “confirm that... Jamal is not at the consulate nor in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the consulate and the embassy are working to search for him.” 62 During the visit, the journalists learned that although the building was equipped with cameras, they failed to record anything the day Mr. Khashoggi disappeared. The Consul General added that “the idea of kidnapping a Saudi citizen by a diplomatic mission is something that should not be put forward in the media.”63 He also said “the consulate was equipped with cameras but they did not record footage.” 118. On the evening of 6 October, Turkish officials communicated to the press that “The initial assessment of the Turkish police is that Mr. Khashoggi has been killed at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul. We believe that the murder was premeditated, and the body was subsequently moved out of the consulate.”64 Saudi Arabia’s continual denials and scene clean-up VIII. 119. At 05:30 on 6 October, ten members of the Mabahith, the Saudi secret police, landed in Istanbul.65 The delegation arrived at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul at 14:45. 120. On 7 October, the Saudi Press Agency published a statement from an unnamed Saudi official who had dismissed reports from Reuters that Mr. Khashoggi had been killed in the Consulate. “The official strongly denounced these baseless allegations, and expressed his doubt that they came from Turkish officials that are informed of the investigation or are authorized to comment on the issue.”66 The unnamed source “stressed that the Kingdom holds the safety and wellbeing of its citizens wherever they are, and that relevant authorities in the Kingdom are diligently following up on this matter to uncover the complete facts.” 67 121. On 8 October, in a message to a journalist the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Khalid bin Salman, denied all allegations of the Saudi government’s involvement in Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance, “I assure you that the reports that suggest that Jamal Khashoggi went missing in the Consulate in Istanbul or that the Kingdom’s authorities have detained him or killed him are absolutely false, and baseless.” 68 122. On 9 October, Saudi Arabia sent a diplomatic note to the Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs inviting the Turkish authorities to visit the Consulate General.69 The same day, the 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 24 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-05/saudi-crown-prince-discusses-trump-aramcoarrests-transcript. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-politics-dissident-consulate-idUSKCN1MG0RC. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-politics-dissident-consulate/saudi-arabia-opens-upconsulate-after-journalist-vanishes-idUSKCN1MG0RC. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-politics-dissident-idUSKCN1MG0HU. Information from Turkish Intelligence. The Special Rapporteur has the identity of all these individuals but has opted not to disclose it. https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1823102. https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1823102. https://www.axios.com/trump-wants-audio-from-khashoggi-interrogation-ca7b0cc5-ad18-4fcb-8cadc4c29ec2af34.html. Information from Turkish Intelligence.