Saudi’s Admit Khashoggi Murder Was Premeditated

ISTANBUL (AP) — The state-run Saudi Press Agency says Saudi prosecutors are calling the killing of Jamal Khashoggi a premeditated crime.

A statement Thursday quoted Saudi Attorney General Saud al-Mojeb as saying that investigators came to that conclusion after evidence presented by Turkish officials as part of the two nations' investigation into the killing.

Khashoggi was killed Oct. 2 at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia had insisted for weeks that Khashoggi had walked out of the consulate, before changing their account to say he died in a brawl.

A member of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's entourage on foreign trips was seen at the consulate before the Washington Post columnist's slaying.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch says Jamal Khashoggi's son has left Saudi Arabia and is on his way to the United States.

Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of Human Right's Watch's Middle East and North Africa division, said that Salah Khashoggi and his family left the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Thursday after a travel ban on him was lifted.

Turkish officials say his father Jamal, a Washington Post columnist who was critical of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, was killed Oct. 2 when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by Saudi agents.

The kingdom has faced intensifying international pressure to be transparent about the death of Khashoggi. After initially claiming that the journalist left the consulate, Saudi prosecutors said Thursday that Turkish evidence shows the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was premeditated.