Turkey: Tapes related to Khashoggi's death shared with Saudis, U.S.

Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday his nation has shared tapes related to Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death with Saudi Arabia, the United States, Britain, Germany and France.

Erdogan made the disclosure about the killing last month of The Washington Post columnist in Istanbul before the leader's departure for World War I commemorations in France.

"We gave the recordings, we gave them to Saudi Arabia, we gave them to Washington, to the Germans, to the French, to the English," Erdogan said in a televised speech. "They listened to the conversations which took place here, they know."

Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi rulers, died on Oct. 2 after he entered the Saudi consulate to obtain paperwork for his marriage. Ten days ago, a Turkish prosecutor said Khashoggi, 59, was strangled when he entered the Saudi consulate in a premeditated plan.

During his speech, Erdogan again urged Saudi Arabia to explain what happened to Khashoggi and his body, which has not yet been found.

He also demanded Saudi Arabia hand over the 18 suspects for prosecution in Turkey but the kingdom wants them to be tried in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia originally initially denied any knowledge about the killing. But the kingdom later admitted that Khashoggi was killed in its Istanbul consulate. Five high-ranking officials were dismissed, including Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's media chief and the deputy head of the Saudi intelligence service. In addition, 18 people were arrested.