|

Israel set to indict Turkish national

Ebru Özkan was arrested by Israel on June 11 when she was returning to Turkey

Ersin Çelik
12:14 - 8/07/2018 Sunday
Update: 12:16 - 8/07/2018 Sunday
AA
File photo
File photo

Israeli prosecutors are set to charge a Turkish national on Sunday with aiding Palestinian group Hamas, according to Israeli daily Haaretz.

Ebru Özkan, 27, was arrested by Israeli forces at Ben Gurion Airport on June 11 when she was returning to Turkey for alleged links with terrorist groups.

Haaretz said Israeli prosecutors will file an indictment against the Turkish national on Sunday.

Her lawyer Omar Khamaysa says she was charged with asking to transfer money and a cellphone charger to Hamas members, but she wasn't aware of their identity.

Israel labels Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, as a terrorist organization.

Özkan is not the first Turkish citizen to have been recently detained by Israeli authorities.

In January, Osman Hazir, a 46-year-old Turkish national, was arrested for snapping a selfie at East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque while holding a Turkish flag.

And last December, Israel arrested two other Turks -- Abdullah Kizilirmak and Mehmet Gargili -- after the pair had quarreled with Israeli police who had tried to bar them from entering the flashpoint holy site.

In the same month, Adem Koc, another Turkish national, was arrested inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for allegedly “disturbing the peace and taking part in an illegal demonstration”.

Kizilirmak, Gargili and Koc were all subsequently released on bail.

#Indictment
#Israel
#Turkey
6 years ago