An Israeli military court on Monday ordered the conditional release for a Turkish citizen, who has been under arrest since June 11 for alleged links to terrorist groups during a touristic visit to Jerusalem, according to the lawyer for Ebru Özkan.
Omar Khamaysa, Özkan's attorney, told Anadolu Agency that during today's hearing at a military court in Salem, northern Israel, the court ordered a pending trial and conditional release for his client.
Khamaysa stressed that his client will be free if the Israeli prosecutor does not appeal the verdict by 5 p.m. tomorrow. The conditions for her release are 15,000 Israeli shekel ($4,125) in bail, confiscation of her passport, and her signing in twice a week at a nearby police station.
Khamaysa said she was charged with asking to transfer money and a cell phone charger to Hamas members, but she wasn't aware of their identity.
If the Israeli prosecutor fails to provide sufficient evidence, the lawyer asserted, the court order for a pending trial will come into force, and today's ruling has no sign on any ban on Özkan speaking to the press.
Otherwise, Khamaysa said, the case will go to a higher court. Officials from the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv also attended today's trial, he said.
Özkan was arrested on charges of threatening Israel's security and links with terrorist groups, allegations which she denies. She was among 38 Turkish tourists on a trip to Jerusalem. Her friends dispute Israel's allegations and say she was simply there to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque in the city. Like other Muslims, she spent a night at the mosque by reciting and performing prayers at the third holiest site of Islam. Osman Hazır, another Turkish national, was arrested by Israel after he took a selfie while holding a Turkish flag at the same mosque in January.
One month before that, Israeli police barred Abdullah Kızılırmak and Mehmet Gargılı from entering the holy site and subsequently arrested them, also in December 2017, Adem Koç, another Turk, was arrested inside the mosque compound. All three were charged with disturbing the peace and taking part in an illegal rally and were later released on bail.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu condemned the arrest and implied that they would respond to the arrest of Özkan though he did not elaborate. Turkish citizens visiting Israel already complain of random, arbitrary detentions at the airports and hours of interrogation by security forces, despite perceived improvement in relations between Turkey and Israel after a bitter row.
"For genuine normalization of our relations, Israel should end its wrong policies and its inhumane cruelty. We are aware of their treatment towards some Turkish citizens. Lately, they extended the detention of our sister Ebru Özkan. They should not force us to take a step to counter it. We will not exert pressure on civilians but if Israel takes steps to deter our citizens from visiting Jerusalem, we will give a response to them. Our relations will only normalize once Israel ends these inhumane, wrong policies," the foreign minister said.
