A/HRC/41/CRP.1 201. Saudi high-level officials planned, oversaw and/or endorsed the mission: The Saudi Prosecutor issued a statement on 15 November, 2018, claiming that the operation was planned by the “former” deputy chief of intelligence, most likely Mr. Ahmed Asiri, who is currently indicted, and asserting that he ordered the “leader of the mission” to “bring back the victim by means of persuasion, and if persuasion fails, to do so by force”. Mr. Asiri requested that a “former” Senior Advisor at the Royal Court, allocates one of his employees, to the team. Subsequent documents and statements identified the adviser as Mr. Saud Alqahtani and his employee as Mr. Mutreb who allegedly became the head of the team responsible for “negotiating” with Mr. Khashoggi. Mr. Mutreb, Mr. Alqahtani’s employee, was involved in the planning of this mission from the very start, soon after Mr. Khashoggi first arrived at the Saudi Consulate on 28 September: within hours, he was discussing Mr. Khashoggi’s schedule with Consulate staff. Mr. Mutreb states he informed the “Communications office” of Mr. Khashoggi’s Consulate visit. According to the Saudi prosecutor, Mr. Alqahtani also met with the “negotiation” team in advance of the mission and sought Mr. Khashoggi’s return, saying that he was a “threat to national security.” Credible Evidence of Premeditation of Murder 202. Dr. Tubaigy’s presence on the team: the 15-man team included a forensic doctor, Dr. Tubaigy. There is little plausible explanation for his role, other than the role he filled – dismembering and disposing of the body. On 15 November, 2018, the Saudi Prosecutor suggested that Dr. Tubaigy was recruited for removing evidence, should force be used on Mr. Khashoggi in returning him to Saudi Arabia. This explanation is dubious. If that were the case, more appropriate candidates for such a task would be scientific, forensic or technical experts of the kind that came to Turkey after the execution of Mr. Khashoggi. 203. Credible evidence suggests that the decision to kill Mr. Khashoggi was made before the plane carrying Dr. Tubaigy and Mr. Mutreb had left Saudi Arabia. According to an Intelligence expert involved in “Special Operations” consulted by the Special Rapporteur, the initial team in place at the Consulate the day before the others arrived, likely assessed the location and either confirmed a decision to kill or decided it was necessary. Dr. Tubaigy does not appear to have been a core team member but to have been newly recruited to the team, given his concern that he was unprotected since his boss was unaware of his involvement. Hence, it is likely that he was recruited specifically for this mission for the role he ultimately filled: disposal of the body. 204. Presence of a Look-Alike, Mr. Almadani: The presence of a look-alike, intended to make it seem that Mr. Khashoggi had left the Consulate, likewise suggests that murder was pre-planned. If this were a mission to convince him to return to Saudi Arabia, a lookalike certainly would not be needed as his return would have been public. A special operations expert has informed the Special Rapporteur that, if this were a kidnapping, a lookalike would be unnecessary. To the Special Rapporteur’s knowledge, no look-alike has been used by Saudi Arabia in previous kidnappings: the person was simply taken. A look-alike is more likely intended to mask an enforced disappearance, or a killing to create a counter-story (which was in fact the story initially presented by officials in Saudi Arabia). Moreover, Mr. Almadani’s role was clearly pre-planned: he wore a false beard when posing as Mr. Khashoggi, a costume that required advance preparation. Mr. Almadani’s presence on the team suggests that murder was planned prior to Mr. Almadani’s leaving Saudi Arabia for Istanbul. 205. Team members assigned to Residence: The decision to have five members of the team remain at the Residence also suggests a pre-planned role that was to be carried out specifically at the Residence of the Consul General – a role that appears in fact to have been put into effect when Mr. Khashoggi’s body was taken to the Residence. If the team members were simply resting and waiting for their role, they would likely have remained in their hotels. 206. Recording of Mr. Khashoggi’s Death: Dr. Tubaigy discussed dissection of a body in the Consulate at 13:02 on 2 October, thirteen minutes before Mr. Khashoggi arrived. Dr. Tubaigy expressed hope that a dissection would be easy, explained that separating the joints should not be a problem, and commented that he had never cut something “on the ground”. He felt that the torso would be too heavy to be carried in a bag. He described how a heavy body could be cut into pieces, wrapped and placed into plastic bags. Someone, reportedly 40