Turkish authorities have assisted the United Arab Emirates in apprehending three suspects accused of murdering Israeli rabbi and former soldier Zvi Kogan in the UAE, according to an announcement by UAE's foreign ministry on Tuesday.
The ministry, in a statement to the UAE state news agency, expressed gratitude to Turkish authorities for "their cooperation in arresting the perpetrators" in the case of Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old Chabad envoy who also held Moldovan citizenship.
عاجل
وزارة الداخلية: السلطات الأمنية المختصة تكشف عن هوية مرتكبي جريمة قتل المواطن المولدوفي والبدء في الإجراءات القانونية.
أعلنت وزارة الداخلية عن قيام السلطات الأمنية المختصة بالبدء في إجراء التحقيقات الأولية مع الجناة الثلاثة المقبوض عليهم بارتكاب جريمة القتل بحق المقيم من… pic.twitter.com/kDxiKZBnlR
— وزارة الداخلية (@moiuae) November 25, 2024
According to a Turkish security source, the three Uzbek nationals were captured during a covert operation in Istanbul over the weekend. The operation, conducted jointly by Turkish intelligence and police forces, was initiated following a request from the UAE government. The source revealed that Turkish intelligence tracked the suspects' arrival flight to Istanbul, and police apprehended them after they left the airport.
The suspects have since been extradited to the UAE, a Turkish security source confirmed to The New Arab.
While the exact circumstances surrounding Kogan's death remain undisclosed, Israeli security sources suspect Kogan's murderers are operatives working for Iran, who reportedly surveilled him from his kosher grocery business in Abu Dhabi before escaping to Turkey. Israeli agencies are currently participating in the investigation.
Kogan had been a resident of the UAE for several years, working to expand the Jewish community following the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE through the 2020 US-brokered Abraham Accords. Kogan was reported missing on Nov. 21, with his body discovered on Nov. 24.
The Uzbek government has confirmed its cooperation with both Emirati and Israeli authorities in the ongoing investigation. The UAE Ministry of Interior has released images showing the detained suspects – two aged 28 and one aged 33 – blindfolded and restrained.
