Israel on Sunday night continued its intensive diplomatic efforts to secure the release of an Israeli couple being held in Turkey, denying allegations from Turkish state media that the two are spies.
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Mordy and Natalie Oknin were arrested late last Thursday night after taking photographs of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's residence in Istanbul from the Camlica Tower, a telecommunications tower with observation decks. According to Turkey's state news agency Anadolu, a Turkish national was also arrested.
Israeli officials have expressed concern that Turkey will try to leverage the recent arrest of an Israeli couple touring the country for political gain.
Although the Turkish press is paying only scant attention to the story, the Erdogan government's history of politically motivated detentions has raised concerns in Israel and elsewhere that the couple could be detained in Turkey for a long period of time, perhaps even years.
"Considering the history of the Erdogan government, which throughout the years has held dozens of citizens of Western countries under false allegations, with the aim of using them as bargaining chips against their governments, the Israeli couple could also become a victim of Turkey's politicized legal system," said Dr. Aykan Erdemir, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who served in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey between 2011 and 2015 as a representative from the pro-secular Republican People's Party.
According to Erdemir, "If Ankara is again pursuing a policy of hostage diplomacy, it won't only harm Israeli-Turkish relations, rather the entire tourism industry in Turkey. The idea that taking photographs of tourist attractions could lead to tourists being put behind bars is frightening for any potential visitor to Turkey."
Asked by Israel Hayom what he believed to be the motivation behind the arrest of the Israeli couple, Erdemir replied: "Similar to anti-Americanism and anti-Christian sentiments [in previous cases], anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments appear to be behind the arrest of Natalie and Mordy Oknin."
An Israeli diplomatic official said the Turkish authorities have not yet allowed an Israeli consular representative to meet the detained couple. Israeli authorities, meanwhile, were considering issuing a travel warning to Turkey.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement that he had spoken with the family of the two Israelis and updated them on the efforts being made to bring them back to Israel.
The couple, Bennett said, "as has already been emphasized by officials, do not work for any Israeli agency."
"The most senior echelons in Israel dealt with this issue throughout the weekend, led by the Foreign Ministry, and will continue to work tirelessly with the aim of finding a solution as soon as possible," he said.
While it was first believed that the two would be swiftly expelled from Turkey, an Istanbul court on Friday ordered they be remanded for an additional 20 days, pending trial for "political and military espionage."
Bennett on Sunday asked his cabinet ministers to avoid any statements on the matter so that the issue could be properly handled via diplomatic channels. He added that he was working to secure their release "but this is not the time to elaborate on that." He noted that Israel was doing "everything" to bring them home.
The defendants' lawyer, Nir Yaslovizh, who arrived in Istanbul on Friday, called the accusation "preposterous" and blasted the court's "bizarre and unacceptable" remand order.
"They are not spies," he stressed.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid issued a statement over the weekend officially denying that the couple was linked to "any Israeli security agency."
Yaslovizh added that he was receiving the "full cooperation and assistance" of all relevant Israeli ministries.
"Turkish authorities clearly have a different, ludicrous, perception of this case than we do. The court remanded them to allow the Turkish prosecution the time to formulate espionage charges. They have a 20-day deadline, but they can extend it.
"I think what we have seen here is an inconceivable ruling that counters all [international] conventions regarding detention" of foreign nationals, he said.
An unnamed source familiar with the Turkish legal system told Channel 12 News that it was "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."
Erdogan has not publicly commented on the affair and his government has yet to make any demands for the couple's release, but on the other hand, details on the investigation or the reason for the decision to extend the Oknins' remand have been scarce.
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Several Israeli outlets cited Jerusalem sources as saying that the Turkish security establishment was wary of Israelis at this time, given the recent exposure of an alleged Mossad spy ring operating in the country.
Perhaps within that context, Israel's Channel 13 News correspondent Ali Mograbi on Sunday was also detained by Turkish security personnel and asked to stop filming as he covered the story.
Local police asked Mograbi for his journalist's certificate and even ordered him to delete the materials he had photographed.
After he was questioned, Mograbi was released to his hotel and ordered not to leave it.
