Saudi Arabia said on Saturday preliminary results of investigations showed US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi died in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey after a fight with people he met there, state media reported.
“The investigations are still underway and 18 Saudi nationals have been arrested,” a statement from the Saudi public prosecutor said, adding Royal court adviser Saud Al Qahtani and deputy intelligence chief Ahmed Asiri have been sacked from their positions.
Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who lived in the US, disappeared on Oct. 2 after visiting the consulate to complete paperwork related to his divorce.
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King Salman also ordered the creation of a ministerial committee headed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to restructure the country’s General Intelligence Agency.
A team of Saudi investigators were sent to Istanbul and had been working on the case with Turkish detectives.
Earlier in the week, Saudi Arabia promised a thorough and transparent investigation into what happened to the journalist in Turkey.
