Turkish police to search well at Saudi consul general's residence - report

Saudi authorities granted permission to Turkish police on Wednesday to search the well at the residence of Saudi Arabia's consul general in Istanbul as part of the investigations into journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing, sources have confirmed to TRT World.

Investigators have focused their search on the residence and the consulate in the search for clues into how Khashoggi was killed and his body then disposed of.

Saudi teams in consulate vehicles scouted out Istanbul's Belgrad Forest before killing the journalist, Anadolu Agency reported on Wednesday.

Since Khashoggi's disappearance more than three weeks ago, Turkish and Saudi authorities have carried out multiple searches at the consulate and consul general's residence in Istanbul.

The Washington Post contributor and Riyadh critic, Jamal Khashoggi, was killed inside the Saudi consulate on October 2, which he had visited to obtain documents for his marriage to a Turkish woman.

After 17 days of vehement denials, Saudi Arabia asserted on Saturday that the journalist was killed in a "brawl and fist fight" inside a Saudi consulate in Istanbul – without revealing the whereabouts of his body.

'Won't let Khashoggi killers escape justice'

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted on Wednesday his country would not allow those responsible for Jamal Khashoggi's killing to avoid justice, keeping up pressure on Riyadh amid global skepticism over varying Saudi accounts of the prominent journalist's death.

"We are determined not to allow a cover-up of this murder and to make sure all those responsible – from those who ordered it to those who carried it out – will not be allowed to avoid justice," Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara.

He said some people were uncomfortable with him sharing evidence in a speech on Tuesday about a killing stirring global outrage and straining ties between Riyadh and the West.

But he added, "We will continue to share new evidence transparently with our counterparts to enlighten the dark sides of this murder."

Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday said the Khashoggi case was "painful", and "justice will prevail".

The crown prince said all culprits will be punished, and Saudi Arabia and Turkey will work together "to reach results."

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday Saudi authorities staged the "worst cover-up ever" in the killing of Khashoggi in Turkey this month, as the United States vowed to revoke the visas of some of those believed to be responsible.

On Tuesday President Erdogan had also urged Riyadh to search "from top to bottom" to uncover those behind the slaying of the veteran journalist.

Turkey is conducting its own investigation into the killing but it remains unclear where the body of Khashoggi is.

Turkish media have reported that the authorities here have audio tapes in which Khashoggi's alleged killers tortured him by cutting his fingers off before his decapitation.

Turkish police were also hunting for the remains in an Istanbul forest.

On Tuesday, the police searched an abandoned car belonging to the Saudi consulate in an underground car park in the Sultangazi district of Istanbul.