Turkish Court Extends Remand of Israeli Couple Detained for Allegedly Photographing Erdogan's Home

Earlier this week, it was reported that an Israeli couple had been detained by Turkish authorities after photographing the home of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The incident occurred just a few weeks after police in a covert operation arrested 15 alleged Mossad agents.

A Turkish court ruled on Friday that the couple - identified by Israeli media as Mordy and Natali Oknin - must remain in custody for an extra 20 days after allegedly photographing Erdogan's home.

Nir Jaslowitz, the attorney representing the couple, asserted that the couple was on an "innocent trip."

"This is the rare case where justice requires that the Foreign Ministry must do everything in its power to ensure that Israeli citizens are not detained outside the state’s borders," said Jaslowitz, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.

It was initially presumed that the couple would be immediately deported back to their home in Modi'in, Israel.

"All in all, this is a couple [who are] bus drivers. I ask that you release them immediately to their home in Israel," stated the couple's lawyer.

Prosecutors have argued that the couple was conducting espionage when they photographed the Turkish president's quarters.

Photos of #Erdogan's extravagant 'summer palace' revealed amid mass poverty

👉 When will the people of #Turkey finally wake up? https://t.co/VugH93dVU3 pic.twitter.com/GwP7VLrSrJ

— George Mastropavlos (@g_mastropavlos) July 5, 2021

Citing a representative of the Turkish prosecutor's office, lawyers claimed that the couple snapped photos of several palace security stands and cameras. The pictures were then sent to a third party, prosecutors asserted.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid reportedly met with the family on Friday to inform them that the government requested an urgent consular visit with the couple.

Lapid also insisted in a same-day statement that the pair “do not work for any Israeli agency.”