Friends of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi said funeral prayers in Istanbul on Friday (November 16).
Mourners raised their hands in prayer outside Fatih Mosque. An imam recited Koranic verses under a tent set up to protect against the rain, and Khashoggi's friends paid tributes to him.
“What we heard yesterday from the Saudi public prosecutor is not the justice we were expecting or waiting for, but represents injustice itself,” said Ayman Nour, a liberal Egyptian politician.
An adviser to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called for Prince Mohammed to distance himself from the legal proceedings.
“There is no chance to have a court proceeding that is independent from the crown prince in Saudi Arabia,” said Yasin Aktay.
For weeks, Khashoggi's family has called on Saudi and Turkish authorities to locate his remains and hand them over for burial, but the Saudi public prosecutor said their whereabouts are unknown.
Islamic tradition places immense importance on the proper handling of dead bodies, mandating quick burial. The revelation that the body was dismembered has thus been particularly disturbing.
The decision to hold prayer services in the absence of a body suggests the family does not expect it to be recovered.