Turkish media releases chilling account from Khashoggi 'murder tapes'

A Turkish news website has released the first quotes from audio tapes purportedly of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi's last moments before he was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

"Release my arm! What do you think you are doing?" website Haberturk quotes Khashoggi as saying at the consulate's 'A unit,' where the visa department is located, and where seven minutes of the tape are recorded.

Khashoggi was reportedly met by four people, one of whom grabbed his arm as soon as he entered the consulate, Haberturk said.

The four take Khashoggi to the administrative 'B unit,' of the consulate. Three more people join them here, including one whom Haberturk claims was Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, the alleged leader of the 15-man "execution squad." One other person is identified as Saudi Consul General Mohammad al-Otaibi.

"Traitor! You will be brought to account," Mutreb is heard shouting, according to Haberturk.

The rest of the audio includes what Haberturk describes as verbal fighting, brawling and torture.

It claims that 19 phone calls are made to Saudi Arabia from the 'C unit,' which houses the consul's office, with four of them apparently between Mutreb and Saud al-Qahtani, a close adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who was formally relieved of his post last month.

The remains of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of the crown prince, have still not been located.