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Turkey has arrested two suspects for spying the Arabs on behalf of the UAE and is investigating whether the coming to Turkey of one of them was linked to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a senior Turkish official said on Friday.
One of the two men arrived in Turkey in October 2018, some days after Khashoggi was killed at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, the official said, adding that the other had come later to help his colleague with the workload."We are investigating whether the arrival of the primary individual in Turkey was related to the assassination of Jamal Khashogg," the official said, adding that the person was monitored six months before the arrests yesterday in Istanbul.
"It is possible that there has been an attempt to gather information about the Arabs, including political dissidents, living in Turkey."
A Turkish court decided on Friday evening to hold the suspects in jail for international, political and military espionage charges, Anatolian state agency announced.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic to Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman, was shot dead at the Arab Consulate on October 2 by a Saudi operative team, provoking an international protest.
The CIA and some Western countries believe the Prince, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, ordered the assassination that Saudi officials. Saudi public prosecutor has accused 11 unidentified suspects, including five who may face death sentences on charges of ordering and committing the crime.