Turkey’s president has said Saudi officials murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in their Istanbul consulate after plotting his death for days.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan contradicted Saudi Arabia’s explanation that the writer was accidentally killed and demanded that the kingdom reveals the identities of all involved, regardless of their rank.

Mr Erdogan also said he wants Saudi Arabia to allow 18 suspects that it detained for the Saudi’s killing to be tried in Turkish courts. The Saudi government has said it is conducting its own investigation and will punish those involved.

“To blame such an incident on a handful of security and intelligence members would not satisfy us or the international community,” Mr Erdogan said in a speech to ruling party MPs in parliament.

“Saudi Arabia has taken an important step by admitting the murder. As of now we expect of them to openly bring to light those responsible – from the highest ranked to the lowest – and to bring them to justice,” the Turkish president said.

Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Khashoggi has not been seen since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday October 2 (CCTV/TRT World/AP)

Mr Erdogan’s speech was previously pitched as revealing the “naked truth” about Mr Khashoggi’s death.

Instead it put a named source to information already circulated by anonymous officials and the Turkish press in the days since the columnist for The Washington Post walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

However, he kept pressure on the kingdom with his demands for Turkish prosecution of the suspects as well as punishment for the plot’s masterminds.

“All evidence gathered shows that Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a savage murder. To cover up such a savagery would hurt the human conscience,” Mr Erdogan said.

He did not mention Saudi Arabia’s assertive Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his speech, though officials linked to the royal have been implicated in the killing.

The kingdom has said the heir-apparent of the world’s top oil exporter was not involved, but any major decision must be signed off by the highest powers within its ruling Al Saud family.

International scepticism has intensified since Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that Mr Khashoggi died in a brawl. The case has shocked the world and raised suspicions that a Saudi hit squad planned Mr Khashoggi’s killing after he walked into the consulate on October 2, and then attempted to cover it up.

Foreign ministers from the G7 said the explanations offered for the killing leave many questions unanswered and those responsible for the death must be held to account.

A joint statement from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with the European Union, condemned Mr Khashoggi’s killing in the “strongest possible terms”.

They called Saudi Arabia’s confirmation of the writer’s death inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul a first step towards full transparency and accountability.

The statement issued on Tuesday reiterated the need for a thorough, credible and prompt investigation done with the full collaboration of Turkish authorities.

The G7 ministers said Mr Khashoggi’s killing demonstrates the need to project journalists and to reaffirm the right to free expression.

The United Nations said secretary-general Antonio Guterres stands by his earlier call for an independent and transparent investigation into the death.

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq reiterated that the secretary-general can initiate an investigation if key parties request it or if there is a legislative mandate from a UN body.

Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with the state-run Anadolu Agency that “if a request for an international investigation is made … we would co-operate”.

Mr Haq said that did not constitute a formal request from Turkey’s government, which Mr Guterres would need to consider authorising an international investigation.