Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Saudi officials planned to murder journalist Jamal Khashoggi days before his death in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate.

Mr Erdogan told Turkey’s parliament that the Saudi officials began plotting against Mr Khashoggi in late September, days ahead of his disappearance after he entered the consulate on October 2.

He said the Saudis used a “body double” as a decoy after Mr Khashoggi was killed.

Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Khashoggi has not been seen since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday October 2 (CCTV/TRT World/AP)

Mr Erdogan called on Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to allow 18 suspects in the journalist’s killing to be tried in Turkish courts.

Turkey’s president said the writer was the victim of a savage murder. He said diplomatic immunity is not “armour” for murder.

Mr Erdogan’s comments contradicted Saudi accounts that Mr Khashoggi died accidentally in a “fistfight” in the consulate.

Addressing lawmakers of his ruling party, Mr Erdogan said all those responsible for the killing must be punished regardless of rank — from the person who ordered his death to those who carried out the killing.

He asked: “where is the body of Jamal Khashoggi?”