Condolences to be held for Khashoggi in his Jeddah home

Condolences for Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month, will be held in his home in the Saudi port city of Jeddah from Sunday, his son Salah has announced.

Translation: To God we belong, and to Him we return. Condolences will be held for the late Jamal Khashoggi from Friday to Sunday in his home in the city of Jeddah. God bless him and give us patience in this disaster.

Salah’s announcement on Thursday came shortly after the deputy Saudi public prosecutor Shaalan al-Shaalan, announced that the office would seek the death penalty for five people convicted of killing Khashoggi.

Shaalan also shared details of the murder that were inconsistent with those released by both Saudi and Turkish officials over the past month, and sought to distance sacked deputy chief of Saudi intelligence, Ahmed al-Assiri, from the killing.

Translation: We will accept condolences from the ladies in the deceased Jamal Khashoggi’s home in Jeddah from Monday to Wednesday. God forgive him and have mercy on him…

The condolences will be held from Sunday to Friday for men, and Monday to Wednesday for women.

It is common in the Muslim world for the home of the deceased person to be opened up for friends and family to visit and offer their condolences. In many cultures, any food or drink they are offered is considered to be charity on behalf of the dead.

Saudi Arabia told Turkey earlier this month that it would pay diya - a financial sum paid under Islamic law in compensation for murder or bodily harm - to Khashoggi's sons and his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish official told Al Jazeera this week.

In an interview with CNN last week, Khashoggi’s sons, Salah and Abdullah, appealed for the return of their father’s body to be buried in his birthplace in Medina, Saudi Arabia, where it is understood he wanted to be buried. They said they trusted efforts by King Salman to bring those responsible to justice.

Before Khashoggi's murder, Salah, an entrepreneur, had been banned from travelling outside of Saudi Arabia as a result of his father's writing, Washington Post editor Karen Attiah has tweeted.

But in late October, he left the kingdom for Washington, DC, days after he shook hands with the Saudi king and crown prince in a public meeting, photographed by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, and criticised by many observers. One called it a "sinister photo op".