A video of people with mops and buckets, entering the Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul hours before investigators of Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance were to go there has prompted concerns and speculations.
The footage showed two women and a man delivering cleaning gear through the front door of the Saudi diplomatic mission under the supervision of a guard.
They entered the building on the day when a team of investigators, put together by Ankara and Riyadh, were to search the consulate where Turkish authorities claim Saudi dissident journalist was killed.
Khashoggi, who blasted the Saudi regime in his columns for the Washington Post, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage.
READ MORE: Riyadh threatens retaliation for 'actions' against it over missing journalist
The footage of cleaners prompted speculations and jokes that they were called in to the consulate to remove any remaining evidence from the crime scene.
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that he was personally overseeing the investigation into the investigation of Khashoggi’s disappearance and insisted that the journalist never left the Saudi consulate.
Turkish officials and police sources claimed that Khashoggi turned the recording feature on his Apple Watch when entering the consulate and filmed everything inside. Ankara reportedly has evidence that the dissident was murdered and dismembered inside the building by a 15-person Saudi team of assassins. According to other claims, acid was used to dissolve his body after the killing.
The disappearance caused tension between usual allies Washington and Riyadh, with Donald Trump promising severe punishment for Saudi Arabia if an assassination is proven.
READ MORE: 'Rogue killers' might have killed Saudi journalist - Trump
However, on Monday, the US leader came up with a milder statement on the matter, saying that some “rogue killers” could’ve been responsible for the crime, citing King Salman of Saudi Arabia’s “firm” denial that Riyadh had anything to do with Khashoggi disappearance.
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