Turkey wants 18 Saudis extradited over Khashoggi murder

ISTANBUL: Turkey on Friday said it wanted 18 Saudis extradited over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara still had more evidence to reveal in the case.

The announcement came a day after the Saudi prosecutor said that based on evidence supplied by Turkey the murder appeared to have been premeditated -- the first time Saudi authorities had made such an admission.

In a speech in Ankara, Erdogan said Saudi Arabia´s chief prosecutor would visit Istanbul on Sunday to speak to Turkish authorities as part of the investigation.

Saudi authorities earlier arrested 18 men wanted by Ankara following an international furore over the death of Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, who was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

A written request for the extradition of the 18 suspects had been prepared by Istanbul´s chief prosecutor.

"It is clear that the judicial system in Turkey is better equipped to genuinely serve the cause of justice in this case," a senior Turkish official said.

Erdogan on Friday called on Riyadh to reveal who ordered the killing and the whereabouts of Khashoggi´s body.

"You need to show this body," Erdogan said.

The Turkish president, who has stopped short of directly blaming the Saudi government, said that the 18 suspects must know who killed Khashoggi and repeated his call for the men to be tried in Turkey.

Khashoggi, 59, who had lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 2017, was not seen again after entering the consulate to obtain paperwork for his marriage to his Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz.

In his speech, Erdogan indicated that more evidence was yet to be revealed.

"It is not that we don´t have any other information or documents. We do. Tomorrow is another day," he said.

Pro-government Turkish media said that intelligence officers showed Haspel video images and audio tapes of Khashoggi´s killing gathered by the authorities.

A Turkish presidential source said Erdogan shared information about the case with Canada´s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a phone call on Friday.

Prince Mohammed, the kingdom´s de facto ruler, has denounced the "repulsive" murder, denying any involvement. The kingdom´s leadership has pushed responsibility down the chain of command.