Editor's note: Hisham AbuBakr Metwally is the First Economist Researcher at the Central Department for Export & Import Policy under the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry. The article reflects the expert's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
In the early morning of October 20, 18 days after Jamal Khashoggi disappearance, Saudi Arabia's state television issued a statement from the Saudi attorney general who announced the death of Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey.
He explained that Khashoggi died after a fight with the people he met at the consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2.
He added that Saudi's Public Prosecutor's Office is continuing its investigation into the case with the 18 detainees in custody, all of whom are Saudis.
Later, King Salman issued a royal order to exempt "al-Qahtani", who was an adviser to the King, as well as Ahmed al-Eisiri, the deputy head of KSA Intelligence and three other generals.
King Salman made another order to form a committee headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to restructure the intelligence agency.
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks at an event hosted by Middle East Monitor in London, UK, September 29, 2018. /VCG Photo
First reading into the Saudi novel
This story contradicts what the Crown Prince had told Bloomberg before, which is that Jamal Khashoggi entered and left the embassy safely.
In another interview with the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Khalid bin Salman had said nothing could happen inside the Saudi consulate without the knowledge of the country's administration.
Previously, the Saudi consul in Turkey, Mohamed al-Otaibi, had said that he knew nothing about the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi. He had also accompanied the representative of the Reuters agency on a tour inside the consulate to prove that the consulate was not detaining Jamal Khashoggi.
Second reading
If Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate as a result of a quarrel with others, as the statement says, then why didn't Saudi Arabia immediately report the event?
Is it possible for people to quarrel inside a consulate without it being noticed by anyone, and is it possible that someone could kill another person and then simply walk away?
If Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, where is his body? And how did the murderer manage to get his body out of the consulate without it being known by the consulate?
Saudi Arabia has been investigating the case for 18 days, why isn't the truth fully known? Where is his body? What are the names of those involved in the killing of Khashoggi and what were their roles in hisb death?
World reaction
Just before Saudi Arabia issued the statement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Friday evening.
Omer Celik, the spokesperson for Turkey's Justice and Development Party said, "Turkey was not satisfied with the Saudi contention that Khashoggi died in a brawl rather than of a premeditated killing, as Turkish officials privately suspected. We are not preemptively blaming anyone but we will also not allow a cover-up."
Turkey's investigation is ongoing as the Saudi Consulate staffers have given statements to Turkish prosecutors.
On the US side, President Donald Trump said on Friday that he believed the Saudi explanation Khashoggi and called the arrest of 18 Saudis "a good first step."
He added, "We'll be talking to them, we may have some questions. We do have some questions."
German chancellor Merkel said in a joint statement with the German foreign minister Saturday that Saudi interpretation of the events was not enough and demanded the accountability of those responsible for the incident.
Robert Mahoney, deputy executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, speaks during a news conference at the United Nations, October 18, 2018. /VCG Photo
UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said Friday, "What is alleged to have happened is totally inconsistent with our values and what we believe in, and not just the brutality of it – if it happened – but also the fact that he was a journalist".
He also added, "We have a very strict Arms Sale Control Mechanism and let's be clear – we don't just sell arms to anywhere that we can make money".
Marise Payne, Australia's minister for foreign affairs and senator, said on Saturday, "There won't be any official Australian representation at Riyadh's Future Investment Initiative 'Davos in the desert' in light of Saudi Arabia admitting the death of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi".
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that UN secretary general Antonio Guterres is "deeply troubled" by the events.
What are the consequences of the Saudi statement?
Inside the kingdom, there is a state of flutter and surprise for some; others are afraid to experience what happened to Khashoggi themselves.
I expect that with Turkey's announcement of the results of the investigation, there will be an increasing backlash from the international community and human rights organizations.
This will put the kingdom in a rather difficult situation. The whole world is deeply troubled by what happened to Jamal Khashoggi and wants to see justice served.
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