Advertisement

Canada confirms hearing audio tapes of Jamal Khashoggi's death

By Nicholas Sakelaris
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that intelligence agents have heard the audio of Jamal Khashoggi's death. File Photo by Heinz Ruckemann/UPI
1 of 2 | Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that intelligence agents have heard the audio of Jamal Khashoggi's death. File Photo by Heinz Ruckemann/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Monday that government officials heard the audio recordings of the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist who was lured into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2 and was promptly suffocated, dismembered and had his body dissolved in acid, according to Turkish officials.

Advertisement

Turkish officials have given audio recordings that detail Khashoggi's final moments to Canada, the United States, Germany, France, Britain and Saudi Arabia. Trudeau is the first Western leader to acknowledge hearing the tapes.

"Canada's intelligence agencies have been working very closely on this issue with Turkish intelligence, Canada has been fully briefed on what Turkey had to share," Trudeau said.

The audio reportedly includes Khashoggi's final words.

"I'm suffocating ... Take this bag off my head, I'm claustrophobic," Khashoggi said, the Turkish newspaper the Daily Sabah reported.

The Saudi royal family has tried to distance themselves from the killing, even while many of the hit men implicated in the killing are part of Crown Prince {link:Mohammed bin Salman's inner circle. : "https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/17/middleeast/trump-saudi-khashoggi-intl/index.html" target="_blank"}

Advertisement

Turkish officials say that after Khashoggi died, his body was cut up so it could be dissolved in acid, leaving no traces behind. Traces of hydrofluoric acid were found in a well at the home of the consul general.

Family members and supporters gathered Sunday in Istanbul to honor Khashoggi. Turan Kislakci, head of the Turkish-Arab Media Association, demanded justice so "that these barbaric tyrants can never do the same thing again."

Latest Headlines