Turkey said Tuesday it will search the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul as it investigates why journalist Jamal Khashoggi vanished there a week ago, an extraordinary probe of a diplomatic post amid Turkish officials' fears the writer had been killed inside the building. That Saudi Arabia would allow foreigners to enter a consulate and search it shows the growing international pressure the kingdom faces over the disappearance of Khashoggi, a contributor to the Washington Post who has criticized the Saudi government. The Saudis have called allegations of any involvement in his disappearance "baseless," but had no immediate comment on Turkey's announcement. It remained unclear when the search would take place, reports the AP.
So far, the kingdom has offered no evidence in the past seven days to show the 59-year-old ever left the building, as a new surveillance photo surfaced that showed him walking in on Oct. 2 to obtain paperwork to marry his Turkish fiancée. The door Khashoggi used appeared to be the main entrance of the consulate in Istanbul's 4th Levent neighborhood, a leafy, upscale district that's home to several other consulates. The consulate has other entrances and exits as well, and Saudi officials insist he left through one of them, though they have offered no surveillance footage or evidence to corroborate their claims. Two Turkish officials previously told the Post they believe a 15-person team killed him within the consulate and possibly dismembered him, though Turkey has provided no evidence to that end. Read more on their claims here.
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