In his final words, slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi urged his killers not to cover his mouth because he suffered from asthma and could suffocate, according to Turkey’s Sabah newspaper.
Sabah newspaper, which is close to Turkey’s government, published new details of a recording of Khashoggi’s conversation with members of a Saudi hit squad sent to kill him. The paper says the recording of Khashoggi’s grisly October 2, 2018 killing and reported dismemberment at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul was obtained by Turkey’s intelligence agency.
According to the transcript, Maher Mutreb, a member of the Saudi hit squad, tells Khashoggi that he has to be taken back to Riyadh because of an Interpol order against him. The journalist objects, saying there is no legal case against him and that his fiancee is waiting for him outside.
Mutreb and another man are also heard trying to force Khashoggi to send his son a message telling him not to worry if he doesn’t hear from him, according to the paper. Khashoggi resists saying- “I will write nothing.”
Mutreb is later heard saying- “Help us, so that we can help you. Because in the end, we will take you to Saudi Arabia. And if you don’t help us, you know what will happen in the end.”
Sabah also published Khashoggi’s last words before he was apparently drugged and lost consciousness.
“Don’t cover my mouth,” he told his killers, according to Sabah. “I have asthma, don’t do it. You’ll suffocate me.”
