Israeli couple arrested in Turkey on espionage charges (now released)

[question everything]

Source: ABC News

ISTANBUL -- An Israeli married couple were arrested for espionage late Friday after taking photographs of the Turkish president's residence in Istanbul, Turkey's official news agency said.

Anadolu Agency said a Turkish national was also arrested. Police detained them after a tip off from an employee working in the Camlica radio and television tower on the Asian side of Istanbul. The employee claimed they were taking photographs of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's nearby home from the tower's restaurant earlier this week.

They were formally arrested pending trial for "political and military espionage" by an Istanbul court.

In a statement issued late Friday, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid denied the couple work for an "Israeli agency." He said his department has been in regular contact with the pair and is trying to organize their release.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz identified the couple as Natalie and Mordi Oknin. Citing their lawyer, it said they were taking photographs of the Ottoman-era Dolmabahce Palace while taking a ferry. Parts of Dolmabahce, located on the city's European side, are used as a presidential working office.



Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israeli-couple-arrested-turkey-espionage-charges-81147743

---

More..

A Turkish court on Friday extended their remand by 20 days, with local authorities saying they suspected the Oknins of espionage, as the episode appeared to be expanding into a diplomatic spat between the two countries. Israel has firmly and formally rejected the allegation that the couple, both of them bus drivers, are spies.

The decision to keep the couple behind bars surprised Israeli officials, who had been under the assumption that the court would order their immediate deportation from the country at Friday's remand hearing. The detention of a tour guide who was arrested with the couple was extended until Sunday.

(snip)

An unidentified source familiar with Turkey's legal system told Channel 12, "It is clear that this was a political, rather than a legal, decision... It is clear that elements in Erdogan's circle exerted pressure and briefed him as if these were Mossad agents on an Israeli mission."

https://www.timesofisrael.com/lawyer-for-israeli-couple-detained-in-turkey-arrives-in-istanbul/

[Igel]

1. How Soviet.

I wonder if the photos of Erdogan's residence taken from the restaurant consisted of them and their waiter in a selfie, with the demur, trifling little hut of a residence ]in the background.

[DFW]

2. Though we have Turkish friends here in Germany

And my wife was there with an official German study group, we have no desire to visit there in the near future. A regime that uses tourists as convenient political prisoners could just as easily pick us next time.

[Slammer]

3. spying

A lot of Israel bashing happening on other websites.

But the reality is that the couple was photographing the outside of a public building which has had hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures taken of it over the years.

You can look at Dolmabache Palace in Google Images alone and see dozens of photographs, including pictures from the water.

That's not the kind of thing that any intelligence service would send out two spies to photograph. At that distance, they wouldn't see anything which wasn't already publicly available from multiple sources.

It'd be like Russia sending spies out in 2021 to photograph the outside of the White House. It just would never happen.

This is just an excuse by Turkey's government to harass Israeli citizens.

[oldsoftie]

4. Then I guess there should be 100s of arrests every day in front of the White House

Erdogan continues to take Turkey backwards

[question everything]

5. Israeli couple released from detention in Turkey, PM says

JERUSALEM -- An Israeli couple has been released by Turkey after being detained on suspicion of espionage, according to a joint statement by Israel's prime minister and foreign minister on Thursday.

Mordi and Natalie Oknin are on their way to Israel, according to the statement, which also expressed gratitude to the president and government of Turkey.

The couple was arrested for espionage last week after taking photographs of the Turkish president’s residence in Istanbul, Turkey’s official news agency reported at the time.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israeli-couple-released-detention-turkey-pm-81247592