- An Israeli couple was detained in Turkey.
- They took photos of the residence of President Tayyip Erdogan.
- They were released on Thursday.
The Israeli Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that Turkey released an Israeli couple who were detained on charges of espionage for allegedly photographing the residence of President Tayyip Erdogan during a trip to Istanbul.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett denied the spying charges against Modi and Natali Oknin, saying that they do not work for any Israeli agency.
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His government sent a senior emissary to Turkey to help them be released.
Bennett and Foreign Minister Yail Rapide said in a joint statement: “Through joint efforts with Turkey, Modi and Natali Oknin were released from prison and are on their way back to Israel.”
They added:
We thank the Turkish President and his government for their cooperation and look forward to welcoming the couple home.
According to reports from the Turkish state-run Anadolu agency, the Turkish court arrested the Israeli couple on November 12 for taking photos of Erdogan’s residence at Camlica Tower, a telecom tower with a viewing platform in Istanbul.
Anadolu said an employee reported the incident to the police after seeing the couple taking photos of their residences from the tower restaurant.
It said that a Turkish national who was with the couple was also arrested on charges of political and military espionage.
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