An Israeli couple held in
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...for suspected espionage after photographing the president’s palace was set free early Thursday morning, returning to Israel on a private jet sent by the government to bring them home.
The development ended a week-long saga that had involved concrete fears Mordy and Natali Oknin would be in
The Foreign Ministry sent a jet, along with two senior consular officials, to bring them back and they arrived in Israel shortly after
The couple’s lawyer, Nir Yaslovitzh, returned to Israel earlier in the night, without meeting his clients on
The couple was arrested in Istanbul last week after they photographed Erdogan’s palace in Istanbul while on tour and sent the photo to their family. Media reports have said thousands of tourists — including Israelis — regularly take photos of the palace.
Initial hopes that the misunderstanding would quickly be cleared up were dashed last week when a judge ordered them held for an additional 20 days on suspicion of espionage.
The husband and wife were being held separately and granted intermittent access to an Israeli lawyer and Israeli consular officials.
Israel has firmly and formally rejected the allegation that the Oknins, both of whom are bus drivers for the Egged company, are spies. Natali had featured in advertising campaigns for Egged over the years, and their work colleagues dismissed the notion that they were spies as ridiculous.
Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Wednesday that it was "clear to all" that there was no reason for
In addition to its own diplomatic efforts, Israel had enlisted the help of a third country in its attempts to free the couple, the Haaretz newspaper reported. The third country had reportedly worked to pressure Turkey’s leaders to free the Oknins.
However,
some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves...
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat told Radio 103FM that "no foreign countries were involved in this solution."
In the first public comment by a top
He told news hounds that prosecutors believe the Israelis committed "what can be called diplomatic and military espionage," but that "the court will decide."
The delicate diplomacy was further complicated because the two governments do not have ambassadors in each other’s countries due to longstanding tensions between Ankara and Jerusalem.
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Related:
Oknin: 2021-11-17 Turkish minister: Detained Israeli couple ‘marked’ Erdogan’s residence
Oknin: 2021-11-16 Attorney of Israeli couple visits client in Turkish prison: I tried to bring hope
Oknin: 2021-11-15 Israeli reporter detained on air in Turkey while covering couple held in custody
Oknin: 2021-11-17 Turkish minister: Detained Israeli couple ‘marked’ Erdogan’s residence
Oknin: 2021-11-16 Attorney of Israeli couple visits client in Turkish prison: I tried to bring hope
Oknin: 2021-11-15 Israeli reporter detained on air in Turkey while covering couple held in custody