Turkey arrests 2 UAE spies linked to Khashoggi murder

Turkey on Friday arrested two United Arab Emirates based intelligence operatives for allegedly spying for Saudi Arabia in relation with Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

The suspects were later referred to court on charges of political, military and international espionage, reported Anadolu Agency.

The Sabah newspaper has reported that one suspect had been in constant contact with a person connected with Khashoggi's murder.

The US intelligence agencies and Turkey have alleged the murder of Khashoggi was enacted upon orders by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Abu Dhabi is considered a close ally of Riyadh.

Khashoggi, who was a journalist with The Washington Post and a vocal a critic of the Saudi regime, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 last year, where he had gone to obtain paperwork certifying his divorce with his former wife Alaa Nassif in order to be able to marry his Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz.

However, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly rejected all the allegations against its Crown Prince, adding that it is committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice.

UN's special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, Agnes Callamard, leading the investigations into Khashoggi's death, had confirmed that evidence showed the latter to be a victim of "a brutal and premeditated killing, planned and perpetrated by officials of the state of Saudi Arabia".

After presenting several contradictory theories, Saudi Arabia acknowledged that Khashoggi was killed in the consulate premises in what the country's then Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir had described as a "rogue operation".