French authorities release man held as suspect in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, blaming an identity mix-up

French authorities had said the man was detained on an outstanding Turkish arrest warrant. The suspect was thought to be Khalid Aedh al-Otaibi, a Saudi wanted in connection with the murder of Saudi journalist Khashoggi, who was dismembered in Istanbul three years ago.

A man identified as Khalid Aedh al-Otaibi was allegedly part of a 15-member team sent to kill Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018. He was one of 17 Saudis sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2018 for playing a role in the killing.

Saudi officials had cast early doubt on the French claims. A Saudi official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said Tuesday that “media reports suggesting that a person who was implicated in the crime against Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi has been arrested in France are false. This is a case of mistaken identity. Those convicted of the crime are currently serving their sentences in Saudi Arabia.”

The French police later said that they were not sure they had detained the right man. “It’s still possible that this is the right person, just as it’s still possible that it’s the wrong person,” a police spokesperson said Tuesday night.

A Saudi court in 2019 sentenced five people to death and three to jail over the killing of Khashoggi, but the death sentences were later overturned after some of Khashoggi’s family members forgave his killers, enabling the sentences to be set aside according to Saudi law.

Dadouch reported from Beirut.