In recent years Jamal Khashoggi had been a frequent critic of Saudi Arabia's rulers (AFP/Google)
The disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has made headlines around the world. At the time of writing, the Saudi national remains a missing man who has not been seen since he entered his country's consulate in Istanbul shortly after 1 pm on Tuesday 2 October.
Turkish officials have told Middle East Eye and other media organisations that investigators suspect Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate building, but have no evidence corroborating those suspicions have been made public.
Saudi officials have strenuously denied those allegations and say that Khashoggi left the building shortly after entering it. However they have not presented any evidence to corroborate their account, and say that security cameras were not working on the day Khashoggi visited the consulate.
Khashoggi was once part of the Saudi establishment. But in recent years he had become critical of the kingdom's rulers, and in September 2017 he moved to Washington amid fears of a new crackdown on dissenting voices. At the time of his disappearance he lived there in self-imposed exile, writing regular columns for the Washington Post newspaper.
Describing his own journalism, Khashoggi refused to regard himself as an "opposition" dissident, and said: "I just want to be an independent writer… Im just writing my views assuming that I am Saudi Arabian."
Information surrounding Khashoggi's disappearance is limited but some details have emerged, mostly through leaks to media outlets in Turkey and elsewhere. What follows is a timeline leading up to the day that he vanished: times provided are local.
Friday 28 September: Istanbul
Time unknown: Khashoggi goes to the Saudi consulate on Akasyalı Sk in Istanbul. He is planning to marry Hatice Cengiz, his Turkish fiancee, but first he needs to obtain paperwork from the Saudi authorities.
Officials at the consulate tell the journalist to return on Monday. Khashoggi flies to London on Friday evening.
Saturday 29 September: London
Morning: Khashoggi is one of the speakers at a MEMO (Middle East Monitor) conference about the 25th anniversary of the Oslo Accords at the Wellcome Collection on Euston Road.
Khashoggi tells the gathering that Saudi Arabia realises it has gone too far in promoting President Donald Trump's "Deal of the Century" for the Middle East, and that it is now backing away as the plan has become a burning issue in the kingdom.
Later Khashoggi is interviewed by the BBC World Service about the Middle East peace process. Off-air, he is asked about his own circumstances and whether he can return to Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi says: "People who get arrested are not even dissidents. They just have an independent mind."
Three days before he disappeared, we interviewed Jamal Khashoggi. Off air, we asked him about the possibility of returning to Saudi Arabia. We wouldn't normally release this conversation but we've decided to make an exception in light of the circumstances. https://t.co/Qj9pQ2ExbP pic.twitter.com/cmWimMj93H
— BBC Newshour (@BBCNewshour) October 8, 2018
The interviewer asks: "When do you think you will be able to go home again?" Khashoggi replies: "I don't think I will be able to go home."
Sunday 30 September: London
1100: Khashoggi meets with his friend Saad Djebbar at The Fine Cheese Co. in the upscale Belgravia neighbourhood.
Djebbar, an international lawyer based in London, has known Khashoggi for 22 years. “Jamal always came to me to help settle matters regarding Saudi institutions – businessmen, those who are loyal institutions or members,” Djebbar later tells MEE.
The two chat at the shop for less than an hour. Djebbar says that a car then came to collect Khashoggi.
Monday 1 October: Istanbul
Afternoon: Khashoggi, who is unable to make the Monday appointment at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, flies back to Turkey.
Tuesday 2 October: Istanbul
0144-0145: Three Saudi men pass through passport control at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport after arriving aboard a scheduled flight. Although the flight they were on is unknown, several inbound flights from Cairo landed shortly beforehand. They later check in at the Wyndham Grand Istanbul Levent on Buyukdere Cd in the Levent district, close to the Saudi consulate.
The Turkish authorities subsequently identify them as Meshal Saad M Albost, Khaled Aedh G Altaibi and Abdulaziz Muhammed M Alhawsawi. They are the first three of 15 Saudi nationals to arrive in Istanbul on that day who are later linked to Khashoggi's disappearance.
0313: A private jet, with the tail registration HZ-SK2, arrives at Ataturk Airport from Riyadh via Cairo (below). On board are nine Saudi nationals.
0338 – 0341: The second group of Saudi nationals pass through passport control (below). Later they check in at the Movenpick Hotel Istanbul at Eski Buyukdere Caddesi No. 3 in the Levent district, also near the Saudi consulate. The Turkish authorities later identify them as Salah Muhammad A Tubaigy, Turki Musharraf M Alsehri, Waleed Abdullah M Alsehri, Thaar Ghaleb T Alharbi, Maher Abdulaziz M Mutreb, Fahad Shabib A Albalawi, Badr Lafi M Alotaibi, Saif Saad Q Alqahtani and Mustafa Muhammed M Almadani.
Approx 1245: Turkish staff at the consulate are told told to take the day off.
1314: Khashoggi enters the Saudi Arabian consulate at 6 Akasyalı Sk (below). It is the last time he is seen in public. Saudi officials subsequently say that Khashoggi left the building 20-30 minutes after he arrived.
Khashoggi leaves his iPhone with Cengiz as mobile devices are not allowed inside the consulate and tells her to raise the alarm if he fails to return after more than four hours.
An official greets Khashoggi as he enters by the door and he is taken to the consul generals office, according to reports. Sources close to the investigation tell Middle East Eye say that two men dragged Khashoggi from the room to another, where he was killed. His body was then dismembered in a third room, the source said.
Saudi officials have strenuously denied allegations that Khashoggi was killed.
1515: A convoy of six Saudi diplomatic cars leaves the consulate: four vehicles head for the consulate-general's residence, where they remain for several hours, while the other two head for a hotel. A black van with diplomatic number plates also departs at around the same time. It's destination is not known.
1600: Cengiz becomes concerned and calls Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She also contacts an organisation which represents the interests of Turkish journalists. CCTV (below) later shows her outside the Saudi consulate.
1612 – 1653: A group of three Saudi nationals pass through passport control at Ataturk Airport. They are understood to have arrived on a scheduled flight, possibly Saudia flight V263 from Riyadh which landed at 1525. They check into the Wyndham Grand Hotel. They are subsequently identified by Turkish authorties as Naif Hassan S Alarifi, Muhammed Saad H Alzahrani and Mansur Othman M Abahuseyin.
1715: A private jet, with the tail registration HZ-SK1, arrives at Ataturk Airport.
1800: Cengizis is told by staff at the Saudi consulate that Khashoggi has already left the building.
1820: Private jet HZ-SK1 leaves Ataturk Airport for Riyadh via Cairo. On board are six Saudi nationals.
2000: Cengiz calls the police to report Khashoggi's disappearance.
2246: Private HZ-SK2 leaves Ataturk, first for Dubai, then for Riyadh. On board are seven Saudi nationals.
Wednesday 3 October
0018 – 0020: The final two Saudi nationals pass through passport control at Ataturk Airport and leave on a scheduled flight.
The Saudi nationals
Saudi officials have strongly denied any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts and say that he left the consulate soon after arriving. They have yet to present any evidence to corroborate their comments and say that video cameras at the consulate were not recording at the time.
The 15 Saudi nationals, whose faces were captured on CCTV at Ataturk Airport passport control, are:
From left to right (above)
- Meshal Saad M Albost, born 1987
- Mustafa Muhammed M Almadani, born 1961
- Mansur Othman M Abahuseyin, born 1972
- Maher Abdulaziz M Mutreb, born 1971
- Waleed Abdullah M Alsehri, born 1980
From left to right (above)
- Fahad Shabib A Albalawi, born 1985
- Thaar Ghaleb T Alharbi, born 1979
- Salah Muhammad A Tubaigy, born 1971
- Saif Saad Q Alqahtani, born 1973
- Badr Lafi M Alotaibi, born 1973
From left to right (above)
- Naif Hassan S Alarifi, born 1986
- Abdulaziz Muhammed M. Alhawsawi, born 1987
- Muhammed Saad H Alzahrani, born 1988
- Khaled Aedh G Altaibi, born 1988
- Turki Muserref M Alsehri, born 1982
Photo source: AFP/ Washington Post/Hatice Cengiz
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