Turkish police have searched a Saudi businessman’s villa where prosecutors believe Saudi operatives may have hidden the dismembered corpse of Jamal Khashoggi, authorities said Monday.
Investigators descended on the mansion and a neighbouring property in the province of Yalova, south of Istanbul, as part of their ongoing search for the body of the murdered Washington Post columnist.
The villa reportedly belongs to Mohammed al-Fawzan, a Saudi businessman. Istanbul’s chief prosecutor said that on October 1 – a day before Mr Khashoggi’s death – a member of the 15-man Saudi hit squad called Mr al-Fawzan.
"The chief prosecutor’s office believes that this phone call was about disappearing or hiding the body parts of the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
Mr al-Fawzan was not in Turkey when Mr Khashoggi was killed on October 2 but investigators believe he may have let the hit squad use his property, according to state media.
Mr al-Fawzan could not be reached for comment. There is no suggestion he knew the hit squad might try to hide the body at his property.
Turkish media reported he is a millionaire close to the Saudi royal family.
Photographs from the scene showed that large photographs of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were hanging on a wall inside villa.
Investigators focused on a well on the grounds of the villa. They drained it of water so they could search inside. Drones and dogs were also used in the 10-hour search, which included the grounds of a neighbouring property. It was not clear if they found anything significant.
Prosecutors said the man who called Mr al-Fawzan was Mansour Othman Abahussain, who was previously identified as a Saudi intelligence officer. He has been arrested by Saudi authorities along with other members of the hit squad.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, said in a speech last month that members of the Saudi team travelled to Yalova one day before the killing in an apparent search for a spot to hide the body.
Yalova is a province across a short ferry ride across the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul.
Meanwhile, Tunisian activists have called for protests during Crown Prince Mohammed’s visit to the country on Tuesday. The prince has been touring Arab countries and presenting a calm front despite the international criticism sparked by Mr Khashoggi’s murder.
A Tunisian journalist’s union hung a large banner from its headquarters showing the prince holding a chain saw – a reference to the dismemberment of Mr Khashoggi’s corpse.
Saudi Arabia has insisted that the prince was not involved in the killing but US senators have said they believe he was responsible.
Several Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Donald Trump, are demanding that the CIA brief them on its assessment of the prince’s involvement.
The senators said they might push for congressional sanctions on Crown Prince Mohammed, depending on what they learn in the briefing. "We are not going to give an autocratic leader a pass," Mr Graham said.
Mr Trump said last week that he was standing by Saudi Arabia despite reports that the CIA believes Crown Prince Mohammed did order the killing.
“It could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!” Mr Trump said in a statement.