Saudi Arabia has accused France of arresting the wrong man after police said they had detained a former member of the royal family suspected of being part of the 'hit squad' that murdered Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The suspect was detained at Paris's main airport on Tuesday while carrying a passport identifying him as Khalid Al-Otaibi, one of the 26 men on trial in absentia in Turkey over the killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
But the Saudi embassy in France has since released a statement claiming that officers have arrested the wrong man in a case of mistaken identity, and have demanded his immediate release.
French authorities are now working to confirm the man's identity, saying he was arrested after an Interpol red notice issued by Turkey was triggered as he went through passport control before boarding a flight to Riyadh.
Khalid Al-Otaibi (circled at Istanbul airport just before the killing alongside other suspects) has been arrested by French police
A Saudi passport (pictured) held by a man with the same name was allegedly used to enter the US on three occasions on trips coinciding with Saudi royals
A security source in Saudi Arabia said that 'Khaled Alotaibi' is a very common name in the kingdom, and the Alotaibi accused in the Khashoggi case could not be in Paris because he is currently serving prison time in Saudi.
Twenty-six Saudis are now on trial in absentia in Istanbul over the killing in a process that began in October 2020.
Turkey began trials for 26 Saudis accused of involvement in the killing in October last year, but none of them has yet faced court in person.
Alotaibi is also one of 17 people that the US Treasury designated for sanctions in 2018 over the murder.
Khashoggi, a former member of the Saudi royal family turned dissident, was a US citizen and working for the Washington Post as a columnist when he was killed.
The murder sparked international outrage that continues to reverberate, with Western intelligence agencies accusing the kingdom's de-facto ruler Prince Mohammed bin Salman of authorising the killing.
A source close to the case said that the man can be detained for up to 48 hours while further checks are carried out on his identity.
If confirmed as the suspected member of the assassination team, he will appear before French prosecutors, ahead of any possible
