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The body of US-Turkish activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot dead by Israeli troops at a protest in the occupied West Bank, has arrived in Didim on Turkey’s Aegean coast, where she will be buried on Saturday.
The coffin was covered in a Turkish flag when it was brought to the state hospital in the Turkish town in an official ceremony on Friday evening. Her parents, dressed in black, as well as other relatives and mourners, looked on as the coffin was carried by Turkish security forces into the morgue.
Her mother, Rabia Birden Eygi, was visibly distressed and required medical attention upon the arrival of her daughter’s body. A Turkish medical professional told The National that an autopsy had been carried out on Ms Eygi's body in the city of Izmir before the remains were brought to Didim.
A previous autopsy carried out in the West Bank found that severe bleeding and swelling to the brain from an Israeli bullet wound had caused her death. Ms Eygi, 26, was shot last week while attending a protest against the Israeli army in the village of Beita, near Nablus, in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Israeli army said it was “highly likely” she was hit by gunfire from its forces.
Her grandfather lives in the coastal town, which is a resort popular with British tourists known for its golden sand beach. Earlier on Friday, The National witnessed preparations for her interment in Didim Modern Cemetery, where guards were placing barriers around a grave prepared for burial. Local police shut roads around the central mosque, where a funeral ceremony will be held.
Ms Eygi’s father, Mehmet Suat Eygi, who lives in the US and arrived in Didim on Thursday, said he expected the US government to open an investigation into his daughter’s killing. "America is a slightly different country; if there is an injustice in any country in the world, if there is a killing of its citizens, America will land [on that country] like the eagle on its emblem,” he said in remarks carried by Turkish state media.
“But when it comes to Israel, there may be a little more of an effort to gloss over the issue. But I want to believe that people will listen to their conscience," he said.
His daughter was 10 months old when her family moved to the US, Mr Eygi said, adding that the US government was responsible for investigating her killing. The US State Department, however, has repeatedly said it is not carrying out an investigation.
"We have been briefed on the results of the preliminary investigation by the government of Israel, and they have told us they are conducting a full criminal investigation. We are going to wait to pass any judgments about what steps ought to occur next," the US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
"That investigation needs to be thorough, it needs to be prompt and needs to be transparent, and then we'll make any determinations at the conclusion of that investigation."
On Wednesday night, Ms Eygi’s parents said US President Joe Biden held “complicity in the Israeli military's agenda”. Mr Biden called for accountability from Israel and requested assurances that similar incidents would not happen again.
The activist lived in the US city of Seattle and recently graduated from the University of Washington, but her relatives live in Turkey. Before Didim, the body of Ms Eygi arrived at Istanbul airport after being flown from Tel Aviv to Azerbaijan's capital Baku. Direct flights between Israel and Turkey were halted as diplomatic relations deteriorated after the October 7 attacks by Hamas and the start of the war in Gaza.
Pro-Palestine campaigners published invitations for the public to attend the funeral on Saturday.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Results
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: RB Money To Burn, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m, Winner: Star Safari, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m, Winner: Secret Protector, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m, Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.50pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m, Winner: Motafaawit, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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