16 November 2018•Update: 16 November 2018
By Ahmet Salih Alacaci
ANKARA
A funeral prayer in absentia for slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is set be held in Istanbul on Friday.
Yasin Aktay, an advisor to Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, said prior to the event that Khashoggi would receive a "worthy" funeral prayer now that his death had been confirmed.
"This is definitely not the only duty we have towards him. We will continue to bear witness to all that he sought for us to see," Aktay added.
He underlined that Turkey’s reputation was the actual target in the journalist’s killing with the aim to portray it as if it were an unsafe and unreliable country.
"Through a small precaution he took thanks to his foresight, he ensured that this conspiracy backfired on its plotters. In this sense, he died protecting Turkey from one of the most dangerous attacks it has faced in its history," he said.
Khashoggi, a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, was killed Oct. 2 inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
After weeks of denying any involvement in the crime, Saudi Arabia later admitted that Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate but claimed the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge of any plot to murder the journalist.
His body has yet to be returned to his family, which has been requesting its return, amid reports that it was chemically dissolved.
The absentee funeral prayer is to be held in Istanbul's Fatih Mosque.
