Jamal Khashoggi murder timeline : The disappearance and murder "1-2"

Some think that the World is over with Jamal Khashoggi’s murder as suddenly the media pressure on Saudi Arabia began to loose a bit.
Yes, the media pressure on the Kingdom began to a bit because it is busy in covering the US midterms but I believe that this murder, this crime will be an important catalyst for major changes in the Middle East, especially in the Gulf.

A file photo dated May 6, 2018, shows prominent
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, Turkey. "Anadolu"

It is not the end yet.
I have been working on a timeline for the murder compiling all important details as well and its planning as revealed by Turkish authorities and press in addition to a timeline to the Saudi officials’ too many statements.

I mainly complied timelines made by France 24, AP, New York Times, CNN and Washington Post as well as Turkish newspapers. I could not do it alone with the efforts of tens of journalists.

Some of the information has not been confirmed officially and they won’t be confirmed officially anytime soon like for the instance the fact that Turkish authorities knew what happened on that night in the Saudi consulate because they were spying on it or why he was killed like that.
I was planning to post this timeline after one month of late Khashoggi’s murder but I could not as at the same time we had the tragic Minya attack in Egypt.
Tonight marks the 40th day of his disappearance and murder, it is an old important day in mourning traditions in Egypt. It is a strange coincidence.
I post the first part of that timeline today and I will post other parts throughout the upcoming days.

Jamal Khashoggi’s murder Timeline “From 5 June to 11 October 2018”

The start of this timeline did not start in October 2018 but rather 18 September 2017 when Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi published his first op-ed in both Arabic and English declaring to the world that he became self-exiled citizen criticizing the policies of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman aka MBS in the Washington Post.
Since that date, Khashoggi became a regular columnist in Op-ed section of the Post. In a year, Jamal Khashoggi became one of the most famous Saudi dissident vocal voices against MBS and his men keeping his stance at the same time to support Al Saud as well the monarchy.

• On 5 June 2018, Jamal Khashoggi speaks with Canada’s Global News about granting the right to drive to women expressing his fears of what might happen to him if he stayed in the Kingdom. The interview was released by Global News on 24 October 2018.
  

• On 7 September 2018, the British intelligence allegedly knows according to London-based Express Daily that there was something sinister being planned by Saudi regime for Jamal Khashoggi because he allegedly wanted to expose the use of chemical weapons in Yemen by his country.

• On 27 September 2018, Khashoggi speaks from Turkey to Guardian’s Iran correspondent Saad Kameli Daaghani abut how MBS and his adviser then Saud Al-Qahtani were funding London-based Iran International TV channel. Daaghani who published his report about the controversial Tv channel on 31 October 2018 revealed that information in November 2018 but for some reason he removed but I have seen it and others took a screenshot.

The screenshot Dehghan posted it last before he
deletes it.

• On 28 September 2018 at 11:50 AM Istanbul local time, Khashoggi visits Saudi Consulate in Istanbul asking for documents to prove his divorce from Saudi wife earlier to marry his Turkish fiancée political researcher Hatice Cengiz per Turkish laws. The consulate tells him to come for another appointment. This information was revealed by Turkish President Erdogan in his speech later.

29 September 2018

• On 29 September 2018, Khashoggi heads to London for a conference “Oslo at 25: A legacy of broken promises” which was organized by London-based-Middle East Monitor “MEMO” where he would speak one last time publicly about the Palestine and Peace process as well other issues. On the same day, he received a called from the Saudi consulate telling him to come that he got an appointment on 2 October 2018 at 1:30 PM according to Hatice Cengiz.

• On 29 September 2018 at 2:31 PM: Saudi Military attache in Istanbul Ahmed Al-Mozaini leaves Istanbul to Riyadh on a flight from Sabiha Gökçen International Airport.

Saudi Military attache at Saudi consulate
in Istanbul Ahmed Al-Moazini 

1 October 2018

• On 1 October 2018 at 4 PM, Saudi military attache Ahmed Al-Mozaini returns back to Istanbul. Later that day, Al-Mozaini scouts Belgrade forest in the outskirts of Istanbul

  

  A screen capture from Turkish CCTV showing Al-Mozanini
  after his return from Riyadh on 1 October "Sabah Daily" 

• On 1 October 2018 at 4:14 PM , CCTV shows Saudi Mansour Othman and Naif Hassan , alleged suspects in the murder entering Turkey in the airport with knives and teasers in their bags and it is unclear "at least for me" why the Turkish authorities did not stop them. 
•  
• On 1 October 2018 Later that day at 5:08 GMT he tweets that he would leave London to Turkey after participating in a forum about Palestine where he met researchers and activists who believed in the just cause of Palestine regardless of how powerful the Israeli lobby was. This would be his last tweet written by himself. He returns back To Turkey.

  أغادر لندن وفلسطين في البال، حضرت مؤتمرا وتعرفت على باحثين وناشطين مؤمنين بعدالة قضيتها من أطراف الارض.
  —
  رغم قوة اللوبي الاسرائيلي الذي حاصر اَي تعاطف معها الا ان صوتها لا يزال عاليا هنا.
  —
  في عالمنا يحاولون تغييب فلسطين لكسر الغضب فينا ولكنها حاضرة في ضمير كل مواطن … وان صمت. pic.twitter.com/qnOF5ZyUgu

  — جمال خاشقجي (@JKhashoggi) October 1, 2018

2 October 2018

• 3:28 AM Istanbul local time, a Saudi private charter jet owned by Riyadh-based Sky Prime  Aviation arrives Ataturk airport carrying on board 15 Saudi National men “suspects” who are Saudi security and Royal court as well intelligence officers. Some of those men had diplomatic passports. Booking rooms for three days, they checked in to two hotels including Movenpick near the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul’s financial district.

The photos of the suspects as published by Turkish Daily Sabah on 10 October
"Daily Sabah"

• 11:03 AM: Turkish CCTV footage shows a number of those Saudi men including civilian Mustafa Al-Madani entering the consulate from its front door. Al-Madani is wearing a blue checkered shirt, dark blue trousers and dark sneakers

Mustafa Al-Madani and another suspect
"CNN"

• 1:14 PM leaving his two mobile phones with his fiancée Cengiz, Jamal Khashoggi enters the Saudi consulate from its front door. He never comes out. 

That moment Khashoggi entered the consulate in Istanbul "Turkish press"

• 2:52 PM, Suspect Mustafa Al-Madani leaves the Saudi consulate from back doors wearing Jamal Khashoggi’s clothes “Gray trousers, shirt and a dark jacket”. This means that Khashoggi was killed in the time between 1:14 PM and 2:52 PM.

Madani leaving Saudi Consulate from a backdoor wearing khashoggi's
clothes "CNN"

• 3:07 PM, Turkish CCTV footage shows Saudi diplomatic vehicles leaving the consulate heading to the Saudi Consul residence, which is 1.2 km away reportedly carrying on board Jamal Khashoggi’s body to get rid of it

  

  A screenshot from CCTV showing the diplomatic vehicles leaving
  the Saudi consulate in Istanbul

•  4:06 PM, Madani and another suspect appear walking at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul to create a false trail.

Madani and the other suspect carrying a plastic bag near
the Blue Mosque in Istanbul according to CCTV "CNN"

• 4:29 PM, Madani reappears in the CCTV footage wearing his clothes he wore when he entered the consulate after changing his clothes at W.C of the popular destination. The other suspect carries a white plastic bag believed allegedly to contain Khashoggi’s clothes.



Madani wearing his original clothes with the other suspect at
the Blue Mosque "CNN"

• Time unknown, Madani and the other suspect get rid of the white plastic bag in a dumpster near Movenpick hotel where they are staying.
• 5:15 PM, another Sky Prime Aviation private jet carrying Six Saudi officials landed at Ataturk airport
• 6:2 PM, that Saudi private jet arrived at 5:15 PM takes 6 suspects and heads to Cairo, Egypt.
• 9:31 PM, Saudi military attache Ahmed Al-Mozaini leaves Istanbul to Riyadh from Ataturk airport.

  

  Saudi military attache at Ataturk airport "Sabah Daily" 

• 10: 25 PM, Madani checks out of Movenpick.
• 10:46 PM, the private jet arrived earlier on that day departed Istanbul for Dubai carrying 7 suspects from that team of Saudi officials
• At 11 PM, Two another suspects take commercial flights directly from Istanbul to Riyadh.
• When Jamal Khashoggi does not show up, Hatice Gengiz reports his absence to the Turkish police. Word spread online that he has been kidnapped inside the consulate.

3 October 2018

• On 3 October 2018 at 1:25 AM, Madani departs Ataturk airport.
• On 3 October 2018 at 2:14 AM GMT, Reuters published a report about Khashoggi’s disappearance.
• Hatice Cengiz and Saudi activists begin to make noise asking one question: Where is Gamal?
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin says during a televised news conference Wednesday that “the information we have is that the Saudi citizen in question is still in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul.”
• Washington Post began to report that its columnist Jamal Khashoggi went inside the Saudi consulate and has not come yet and begun its reporting on one of its members.
• In the first recorded reaction, a Saudi official told Reuters that Khashoggi left the consulate and it is not in Saudi Arabia's custody. 
• In a lengthy interview with Bloomberg network in Riyadh, Crown Prince of KSA Mohamed Bin Salman says that he understood Khashoggi left the consulate.
• A Saudi Private jet heads from Cairo to KSA carrying six suspects after spending the day in Cairo.
• The other seven suspects return back to KSA on that private jet after spending a day in Dubai

4 October 2018

• For the first time, the Saudi consulate speaks officially and says that it follows the case of Khashoggi and his disappearance after leaving it. The news is published on KSA's official news agency SPA.

5 October 2018

• Washington Post publishes a blank page dedicated for Jamal Khashoggi saying that he is a missing voice.



A missing voice at the printed version of
Washington Post on 5 October

• The Bloomberg’s interview with MBS is published where he claims that Khashoggi left the consulate according to what he understood and nobody buys what the crown prince said.

MBS with Bloomberg reporters in Riyadh on 3 October
"Bloomberg" 

6 October 2018

• In an unforgettable move, Saudi Consul Mohamed Al-Otaibi shows Reuters reporters that Khashoggi is not the consulate nor is he hiding in cupboards, cabinets and drawers.

Saudi Consul showing reporters that there is no Khashoggi in that cabinet !!
"Reuters"

• For the first time, WaPo quotes anonymous Turkish officials saying the Saudi journalist may have been killed inside the consulate in a "Preplanned murder".

7 October 2018

• AP publishes a quote of Khashoggi friend saying that he was killed inside the consulate and the consulate denied it.

8 October 2018

• The Turkish Foreign Ministry summons Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to discuss the whereabouts of veteran journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

9 October 2018

• Turkish public prosecutor starts an official investigation into Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance. On the same day, it announces that it will search the consulate.
• The Turkish CC TV leaks began to find its way to the Turkish press showing Khashoggi entering the embassy.

10 October 2018

• More Turkish CC TV leaks to Turkish press showing both Khashoggi as well as his alleged death squad find their way to the consulate.
• Khashoggi's fiancee asks US president Trump and his wife for help in Washington Post's Op-ed.

11 October 2018

• Saudi government sent chemicals expert Ahmad Abdulaziz al-Janobi and toxicology expert Khaled Yahya al-Zahrani as part of 11-Saudi investigators team to allegedly aid their Turkish counterpart while covering up the murder at the consulate.

al-Janobi and al-Zahrani leaving the consulate
"Hurriyat Daily" 

• President Donald Trump implies to the journalists that Jamal Khashoggi was killed but in Turkey and that he was a US citizen so the States would take an action. 

Trump: This thing happened in Turkey and Khashoggi isn't even a US citizen. pic.twitter.com/3poTLR22jN

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 11, 2018

As you can see only after 5 days the Turkish authorities decided to investigate into Khashoggi’s disappearance and Saudi Arabia allegedly sending experts to cover its traces.

Jamal Khashoggi’s murder has become like the murder of late Khaled Said in Egypt and the tragic death of Bou Azizi in Tunisia in its own unique way.

It is like some sort of poetic irony that Jamal Khashoggi was from the very few journalists and commenters that supported publicly the Arab Spring till the end.

It won’t bring revolutionary changes to the conservative monarchy but it may bring political reforms to the Kingdom if I may say.
After the murder of Khashoggi, the world began to pay attention to the war in Yemen and suddenly we find the Americans want it to end.
After the murder of Khashoggi, the human rights’ file of Saudi activists detained in jails is being discussed openly in the media.

Last week, news came from the Kingdom that some Al-Saud princes who were allegedly detained because of their criticism to MBS were released including Prince Abdel Aziz Bin Fahd and Prince Khaled Bin Talal based on photos posted by their relatives from the Saudi Royal Family. “Bin Talal allegedly was released in the same week of his brother Al-Waleed’s bizarre interview with Fox”
I hope the next move will be releasing the Saudi activists currently detained especially women activists whose efforts for years to get a simple right like driving, were ripped off so MBS can sell his image as a social reformer in the West.

This is not the end and I think I will keep updating this timeline for some time in the future because it is uneasy to get justice in our part of the world.