Istanbul - The Apple Watch worn by missing Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi recorded the noises of his execution, according to a Saturday report in the major Turkish newspaper Sabah.
The journalist, who mysteriously disappeared after a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, had turned on the recording mode of his device before entering the building, according to Sabah.
His mobile phone, which Khashoggi had given to his fiancee while she waited in front of the consulate, was reportedly synchronized with the Apple Watch, allowing sound to be recorded during the alleged killing.
Sabah wrote that the Turkish secret service MIT and police had evaluated the data, which had been saved in iCloud, Apple's cloud computing remote data storage service. The Sabah report said the paper had "reliable sources."
An outspoken critic of the Saudi government, Khashoggi published work in Western media outlets including the Washington Post. He had gone to the consulate to pick up papers for his upcoming marriage to a Turkish woman.
A security personnel member walks past the entrance of Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials have an audio recording of the alleged killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi from the Apple Watch he wore when he walked into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul over a week ago, a pro-government Turkish newspaper reported Saturday. Picture: Petros Giannakouris/AP
His puzzling disappearance has triggered international outcry, with several world leaders demanding that Saudi Arabia provide answers on his fate.
Saudi officials enter Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul. Turkey and Saudi Arabia will form a "joint working group" to look into the disappearance of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi who vanished last week after entering the Saudi diplomatic mission in Istanbul. Picture: Petros Giannakouris/AP
Saudi Arabia vehemently refutes accusations it is behind his disappearance and claims he left the building and then went missing.
Turkish government sources have told media outlets that he was murdered in the consulate, raising suspicion that Turkey could have bugging devices in the Saudi diplomatic building.
A delegation from Saudi Arabia arrived in Turkey on Friday, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported, in connection with the investigation into Khashoggi's fate.