Khashoggi murder was 'premeditated,' Saudi Arabia now says

Demonstration outside the Saudi Embassy in Colombo.

(Image credit: LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 25 October 2018

Saudi Arabia has a new explanation for Jamal Khashoggi's death.

The country's attorney general announced Thursday that the murder of the U.S.-based Saudi journalist was "premeditated," the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. That's a change from Saudi Arabia's earlier story, which declared that Khashoggi died during a "botched interrogation."

This new conclusion, which more closely matches what Turkish officials say happened, draws from a joint investigation involving Saudi Arabia and Turkey, per the press agency. Turkey has long pushed responsibility on the Saudi government, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying Tuesday that the "savage" murder was pre-planned by Saudi officials. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has maintained that he had no knowledge of the "rogue" operation.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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