Audio Tape Allegedly Proves Missing Saudi Journalist Was Tortured, Dismembered

Turkish media reported that an audio recording has been recovered proving that missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was tortured and dismembered by a hit squad—some of whose members have close ties to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman—in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month. The tape purportedly recounts in horrifying detail the last seven minutes of the reporter’s life, during which he was tied down to a desk inside the mission and cut into pieces while still alive. The revelation comes after Turkish authorities were granted permission to investigate the consulate two weeks after Khashoggi’s disappearance. United States President Donald Trump, who has come under heavy criticism for his reticence to condemn the kingdom, has asked that Ankara provide the White House with the audio recording. The American leader on Wednesday spoke by phone to bin Salman—who earlier had met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo—and thereafter urged the international community to not rush to judgment while promising that the truth would emerge “by the end of the week.” Meanwhile, the Washington Post published the last column written by Khashoggi, in which he emphasized the importance of a free press in the Middle East.