The body of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi was likely burned in a specially constructed tandoori oven at the home of the Saudi consulate general in Istanbul, it is claimed.
In an Al Jazeera documentary investigating his death, a worker who constructed the oven said it was built in the consul’s garden before Khashoggi’s visit to the nearby consulate in October.
He said the furnace was built according to specifications from the consul, including that it had to be deep and withstand temperatures above 1,000 degrees Celsius, hot enough to burn metal.
Khashoggi’s body parts were taken in bags to the consul's home, a few hundred metres away from the consulate where he was killed, where Turkish authorities monitored the burning of the oven from outside the premises.
Large quantities of barbecue meat were then grilled in the oven in order to cover up the cremation, which took place over three days, Turkish authorities said.
The Washington Post columnist’s blood was also found on the walls of the consul-general’s home by Turkish investigators who removed paint that had been applied after the killing.
Khashoggi, a critic of the Riyadh government, was killed and his body dismembered on October 2, 2018 in Istanbul.
Saudi Arabia initially denied any knowledge of his disappearance, insisting he left the building alive, before admitting he had been killed in the consulate.
A CIA report said that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had most likely ordered the killing.
An official report is expected in June.
