Turkish media falsely accuse Consul General’s son of Khashoggi ‘assassination’

Amid the misinformation circulating internationally about missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Turkish media have falsely accused the son of Saudi Arabia’s Consul General Mohammed al-Otaibi in Istanbul of being involved in his “assassination.”

In the video titled “A mysterious visitor in the Saudi Consulate!” that was broadcasted on local Turkish news channels and quickly spread on social media, al-Otaibi’s son is shown being transported in a consulate car.

His son was wearing a doctor’s lab coat which led the media to speculate that he had something to do with Khashoggi’s disappearance before arriving at the consulate.

The Turkish news channels assumed his involvement when he opened the main door of the consul’s house using the handle on top of the door rather than the real handle, which they misinterpreted as a sign that he was a stranger to the house.

After the media suggested that the visitor was one of the people who “cut Khashoggi’s body in pieces and placed in a box that was to be deported”, Turkey's NTV quickly corrected their claim saying that further investigations revealed that the visitor was the consul’s son who was a medical student in Istanbul’s university.

A delegation from Saudi Arabia has arrived this week in Turkey as part of the joint investigation into Khashoggi’s disappearance.

Saudi officials have adamantly stated that the kingdom is not involved in Khashoggi’s disappearance and that there is no evidence to support reports of his death.

Saudi officials have also repeatedly called on the media to await the results of the probe and to refrain from rumor-fueled reporting.