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Israeli Couple Jailed in Turkey Get First Visit From Diplomatic Officials
Israeli tourists arrested in Turkey, Mordy and Natali Oknin. (Twitter)

Israeli Couple Jailed in Turkey Get First Visit From Diplomatic Officials

An Israeli couple jailed since Thursday for taking a photograph of the president’s palace in Istanbul received a visit from Israeli diplomatic officials on Tuesday for the first time.  A Turkish court ruled over the weekend that Israeli tourists Mordy and Natali Oknin of Modiin in central Israel, who are both bus drivers, should be remanded for at least 20 days and that they should remain in jail until their trial; they currently are being held separately. They are likely to be charged with espionage or with a lesser charge of harming the country’s national security. They reportedly took the photo from the Camlica Tower, a telecommunications tower in Istanbul with observation decks and WhatsApped it to family members.

Israel’s consul in Istanbul, Ronen Levy, visited Natali Oknin, and the consul general in Istanbul, Ehud Eitam, visited Mordi Oknin, according to the Foreign Ministry. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid updated the couple’s family after the meetings. Israeli officials have asserted both to Turkey and in public that the couple does not work for any Israeli spy agency.

Also on Tuesday, Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu accused the couple of focusing on Erdogan’s palace and that they “marked” it. He also said that he expects them to be charged with “political and military espionage.” Soylu’s comments are the first public comments from a Turkish official on the arrest.  Turkey has not made any requests or demands to release the couple.

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