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Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Tuesday that the Israeli couple held by Turkish authorities for espionage charges after taking photos of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's palace in Istanbul last week did not do so innocently.
"They did not just photograph the house, they focused on it and even marked it," Soylu said during a meeting with Mongolia's defense minister as reported by Turkish-language daily Cumhuriyet. "This can be called political and military espionage. Only the court will be the one to decide."
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Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu; Israeli couple jailed in Turkey Mordy and Natali Oknin
(Photo: Tasnim News Agency, Facebook)
Soylu is the first Turkish official to comment on the issue since the arrest of Natali and Mordy Oknin last week.
Israel has been working in recent days through various channels to bring about the release of Natal and Mordy, including Mossad Director David Barnea who has been deliberating with his Turkish counterpart.
So far, Turkish officials have not specified any demands for the couple's release and added that they were examining Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's denial the Oknins had any connections to any Israeli intelligence agency.
A Turkish court remanded the Israeli couple in custody for 20 days on Friday for taking pictures of Erdogan's residence from the Camlica Tower, a telecommunications tower in Istanbul with observation decks.
Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported that an employee tipped off the police after seeing the couple take pictures of Erdogan's residence from the tower's restaurant.
The report said that a Turkish national, who was with the couple at the time, was also arrested on suspicion of political and military espionage.