Khashoggi: Ex-US diplomat and a Saudi activist on case

Prominent journalist and critic of the Saudi government, Jamal Khashoggi, walked into the country’s consulate in Istanbul last week to obtain some documents and has not been seen since.

The authorities in Istanbul believe he was murdered by Saudi agents. Saudi Arabia insists that he left the consulate shortly after he arrived.

Former diplomat and US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns, told BBC Hardtalk's Stephen Sackur that because Mr Khashoggi was a permanent resident of the United States there was a direct interest of the US government to pressure the Saudi government to “tell the truth of what happened.”

London based Saudi activist Prof Madawi Al-Rasheed said she was surprised that Mr Khashoggi entered the consulate, explaining: "I would never set foot in the Saudi embassy even when I wanted my passport to be renewed."

She was stripped of her Saudi citizenship in 2005 after publishing criticism of the Saudi authorities.

Watch the full interview on Thursday 11 October and Friday 12 October 2018 on BBC World News and the BBC News Channel or watch again on BBC iPlayer (UK only).