Jamal Khashoggi latest: Saudi FM Adel al-Jubeir says the outcry over saudi journalist ‘hysterical’

DUBAI (AP) — Saudi Arabia's top diplomat said The killing of a Saudi journalist earlier this month became "hysterical" as he urged the public to wait for the results of the investigation before blaming the kingdom's top leadership.

Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post criticizing Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, was killed by Saudi agents at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

"This issue has become somewhat hysterical," said Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair. "I think people have blamed Saudi Arabia for this certainty before the investigation is complete."

Some of those involved in Khashoggi's death are close to Prince Muhammad, who is the crown prince in the kingdom. His conviction of murder as "heinous" and "painful" has so far failed to dispel suspicions that such a high-level operation could have been carried out without his knowledge.

Al-Jubeir has faced growing doubts about the alleged involvement of the crown prince. Was speaking in response to questions from Western journalists at an annual conference of international officials, including US Defense Secretary James Matisse, in Bahrain.

"We have made it clear that the officials will take responsibility," he said, adding that the kingdom had also put in place mechanisms to ensure that it did not happen again.

"We know that a mistake has been made, we know that people have exceeded their authority and we know we are investigating it."

But he cautioned that "investigations take some time."

"Unfortunately, there was this hysteria in the media about the guilt of Saudi Arabia before the investigation was completed," he said.

Turkey claims that a squad of 15 players were sent to Istanbul to kill the journalist, a Saudi insider who became an outspoken critic of Prince Mohammed in columns for the Washington Post. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the other three in the group of 18 arrested in Saudi Arabia were consular officers.

Saudi Arabia said five officials, including two directly under the crown prince, had been removed from office. Al-Jubair said on Saturday that six were separated in total. King Salman appointed his son, Crown Prince, to oversee the restructuring of intelligence services in the kingdom following the killing.

The Turkish president said on Saturday he had discussed the killing of the journalist with leaders of Russia, France and Germany during separate meetings in Istanbul ahead of a summit on the Syrian war.

Turkey has asked Saudi Arabia to extradite suspects in the killing, which the kingdom has described as a rogue operation by officials who may have overtaken their orders or authority.

Al-Jubeir seems to have rejected that idea.

"Individuals are Saudi citizens, detained in Saudi Arabia, investigated in Saudi Arabia and will be tried in Saudi Arabia," he said at the Bahrain summit.

Erdogan said that Turkey would reveal more evidence about the killing but was not in a hurry to do so, pointing out that the Turkish authorities will increase the pressure on Saudi Arabia in a systematic manner even as the Kingdom float conflicting data in a vain and often stupid attempt To finish it. impasse.

After three weeks of shifting Saudi accounts around the incident, the kingdom admitted this week that the killing was "intentional," citing evidence from an investigation with Turkish officials. Saudi Arabia originally said that Khashoggi had withdrawn from the consulate on October 2, before presenting various other accounts described by President Donald Trump as "one of the worst in the history of cover-ups."

AP