Turkish forensic officers and investigators arrive at the official Istanbul residence of Saudi Arabia's Consul General Mohammad al-Otaibi, on October 17, 2018. (Yasin Akgul/AFP)
ISTANBUL — Turkish police on Wednesday began a search at the residence of the Saudi consul to Istanbul, in the investigation into the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in the city, according to an AFP correspondent.
A team of a dozen police and prosecutors, including forensics experts in white overalls, entered the residence of Mohammed al-Otaibi, a day after he flew out of Istanbul for Riyadh. Al-Otaibi left for Riyadh on a scheduled Saudia flight Tuesday afternoon, with Ankara insisting he had not been expelled.
Earlier in the day, a Saudi delegation had also arrived at the building to take part in what is presented as a joint search with their Turkish counterparts.
Turkish police had on Monday searched the consulate building itself for over eight hours, taking away soil and DNA samples for further examination.
In this file photo taken on December 15, 2014, Jamal Khashoggi, looks on at a press conference in the Bahraini capital Manama. (AFP/Mohammed Al-Shaikh)
Khashoggi, a former regime insider who became critical of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, wrote articles for titles including the Washington Post. He has not been seen since he stepped inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
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Turkish officials have said they believe he was killed there although this has not been confirmed by Saudi Arabia.
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