I Can't Breathe: Jamal Khashoggi's Final Words, Says Report.

Slain Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi's final words were "I can't breathe," according to CNN, which cited a source familiar with the transcripts of an audio tape that captured the final moments of the Saudi dissident before he was brutally murdered at the hands of Saudi assassins in Turkey.

The recording has made it amply clear that the murder was planned and premeditated, the source told the US network, adding that several briefings were given on the progress of the killing through a number of phone calls.  

CNN said Turkish officials believe those calls were made to top officials in Riyadh. Khashoggi, a Saudi contributor to The Washington Post, was killed shortly after entering the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

The transcript of the gruesome recording includes descriptions of Khashoggi struggling against his murderers, CNN said, and references sounds of the dissident journalist's body "being dismembered by a saw."

The original transcript was prepared by Turkish intelligence services, and CNN said its source read a translation version and was briefed on the probe into the journalist's death.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Sunday meanwhile rejected demands to extradite suspects connected to the murder of Khashoggi as sought by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan has repeatedly called on Saudi Arabia to hand over suspects in the killing. According to Turkey, a 15-member Saudi team was sent to Istanbul to kill Khashoggi.

Saudi Arabia, however, holds that it was a "rogue" operation gone wrong -- a claim undercut by the reported transcript. For his part US President Donald Trump has refrained from blaming Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, even though the CIA reportedly concluded that he ordered the assassination.

The murder has damaged Riyadh's international reputation and Western countries including the United States, France and Canada have placed sanctions on nearly 20 Saudi nationals.

AFP