American Linked Suspect in Journalist Assassination Reportedly Dead in Mysterious Accident

Meshal Saad al-Bostani is a lieutenant in the Saudi Air Force

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It’s one of the biggest mysteries making headlines around the world. And there is a Louisville connection.

Related news: Aide to Saudi Crown Prince Linked to Khashoggi’s Murder Case

The New York Times reports a man who claims to have gone to the University of Louisville and Trinity High School was a member of an assassination squad in Saudi Arabia that allegedly murdered and dismembered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Meshal Saad al-Bostani in his Facebook profile album

Khashoggi was a U.S. resident and highly critical of the Saudi government.

The Times reports Meshal Saad al-Bostani is a lieutenant in the Saudi Air Force. On his Facebook page, al-Bostani lists himself as a graduate of UofL and Trinity.

Neither school responded to our request for comment Wednesday night.

A Turkish newspaper reported on Oct. 18 that one of the suspects involved in the disappearance of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi died in a “suspicious car accident” in Riyadh.

Mashal Saad al-Bostani, a 31-year-old lieutenant of the Saudi Royal Air Forces, was among the 15 suspects who arrived and left Turkey on Oct. 2 after going to Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate when Khashoggi visited there, according to daily Yeni Şafak.

The newspaper said sources did not release any details about the traffic accident in Riyadh and Bostani’s role in the “murder” was not yet clear.

Daily Hürriyet columnist Abdulkadir Selvi claimed on Oct. 18 that Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consul Mohammad al-Otaibi could be “the next execution” as Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman “would do anything to get rid of evidence.”

Turkish daily Yeni Şafak reported Oct. 17 that Al-Otaibi’s voice could be heard in one of the recordings, which Turkish authorities are believed to have, of Khashoggi’s “interrogation” at the consulate.

According to the report, after Al-Otaibi told the interrogators to “do it somewhere else outside or I will be in trouble,” he was told to “shut up if you want to live when you are back in Saudi Arabia.”

Al-Otaibi returned to Saudi Arabia on Oct. 16 before his residence in Istanbul was searched by police for more than eight hours on Oct. 17 and Oct. 18.

Meanwhile, Sabah newspaper released stills from security camera footage of another suspect on Oct. 18.

According to the report, 47-year-old Maher Abdulaziz M. Mutreb, an intelligence officer who previously served at Saudi Arabia’s London embassy, landed in Istanbul at 3:38 a.m. on Oct. 2 and went to his country’s Istanbul consulate at 9:55 a.m.

Hours after Khashoggi’s arrival and disappearance, Mutreb left the consulate and visited the consul’s residence at 4:53 p.m., left his hotel at 5:15 p.m. and arrived at the Atatürk Airport for his return trip on a private jet at 5:58 p.m.

The New York Times had reported on Oct. 16 that Mutreb had traveled extensively with the crown prince, perhaps as a bodyguard.
– New York Times I Hurriyet Daily News

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Michael Onas
Africa - Online Founder & Senior Editor Africa - Online.Com was founded by Michael Onas in 1997, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in African news sector, with millions of readers around the world and followers on social media.