UAE minister accuses Turkish media of fabricating news on Gulf States amid Khashoggi case

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Anwar Gargash accused several Turkish media outlets of fabricating news on the Gulf States after reports emerged on the alleged involvement of Abu Dhabi in the cover-up of murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

On Sunday, the Turkish Yeni Safak newspaper reported, citing sources, that a group of four people, which was allegedly sent to Istanbul to cover up the murder of Khashoggi had been dispatched by former leader of the Palestinian Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip Mohammed Dahlan. The newspaper describes Dahlan as a "chief hitman" of UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.

"Part of the influential Turkish press is engaged in fabricating news about the countries of the Persian Gulf and the Arab states, including the UAE. This experience showed us that rumors and false information have never been the result of logical or responsible conclusion, and they are damaging the source itself and cause a loss of confidence," Gargash wrote on Twitter.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, known for his criticism of Saudi policies, went missing on October 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in the Turkish capital of Istanbul. After initially denying any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts, Riyadh admitted later in October that the journalist had been killed in a fight inside the consulate.

On Thursday, the Saudi Prosecutor General's Office said that the journalist had been killed with a drug injection, and his body had been dismembered and taken out of the consulate, adding that a total of 21 people had been detained in relation to the case.