Turkey: No trace of Khashoggi after Saudi plane search on day of disappearance

Turkish security forces searched a private Saudi plane on the day that journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared, but did not find any trace of him, the Turkish Anadolu agency reported on Tuesday.

A security source said that Turkish forces then allowed the Saudi plane to take off after they did not find any evidence that Khashoggi was onboard.

The Turkish ministry of foreign affairs had stated that Saudi Arabia has provided all assistance and cooperation in the case of the missing journalist who has disappeared in Istanbul last week.

The Turkish ministry’s spokesperson Hami Aksoy said in a statement: “Although consular premises are inviolable according to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the receiving state can conduct an examination in these premises with the consent of the head of the diplomatic mission. The Saudi authorities have notified that they are open to cooperation in this regard and that the examination can be conducted in their consular buildings in Istanbul.”

He added that investigations are still ongoing.