Claudia's sister leaves for Lebanon

The sister of Claudia Theophilus, the Al-Jazeera English Editor who died of a gunshot wound in Lebanon last Saturday, left today to claim her body.

Dora Theophilus, 36, left from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 11 am this morning, accompanied by a close friend of Claudia, who wished to remain anonymous, and two representatives from the Umno Youth Community Complaints Bureau.

The body of Claudia is expected to be brought home to Malaysia this Friday. When met by reporters, Dora said she hoped the procedure to bring her sister's body home would proceed smoothly.

Declining to comment further, she added,” I’m grateful for all the support from friends, relatives and Claudia's employers since the incident. Our family will however, appreciate it very much if the media can respect our privacy and just pray for her to rest in peace," she said.

It was reported that Claudia, 42, who was a reporter for Al-Jazeera based in Doha, Qatar, was accidentally shot while on holiday with her two friends in Beirut, Lebanon.