CHP calls for investigation committee in parliament over Khashoggi’s disappearance

LONDON

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has proposed that an investigation committee in parliament should be set up to follow the case of the missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“All details about the missing journalist should be examined,” Kılıçdaroğlu told reporters in London.

“If Turkey allowed the Saudi consul to leave Turkey, this is a serious issue,” he said, referring to the departure of the Saudi consul general, who is accused of involvement in the disappearance of the journalist at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

Meanwhile, CHP deputy leader Özgür Özel submitted a motion in parliament to investigate the disappearance of Khashoggi.

He asked why Turkey allowed Saudi consul general Mohammed al-Otaibi to leave Turkey without questioning him and why the police did not conduct an earlier search at the consulate building in line with the Vienna Convention. According to article 41 of the Vienna Convention, consulate officials can be detained and questioned by the host country’s authorities in the event of “serious crimes.”

Turkey was very late in carrying out examinations in the consulate, Özel said in his motion, noting that it harmed the country’s reputation. “Parliament should take action on the issue to avoid further harm on the reputation of our country,” he said.

Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, has been missing since entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

Turkish officials have said they have enough evidence proving the journalist was murdered at the consulate. The Saudis earlier insisted that Khashoggi left the consulate, however have failed to provide any evidence showing he left the premises. The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office had launched an investigation into the case.

Al-Otaibi returned to Saudi Arabia on Oct. 16 before his residence in Istanbul was searched by police for more than eight hours on Oct. 17 and Oct. 18.