Former Israeli navy chief questioned at London airport

JERUSALEM

Former Israeli navy commander Rear-Admiral Eliezer Marom was at the helm during the Mavi Marmara raid in 2010. Hürriyet photo

The former Israeli navy commander, who was at the helm during the Mavi Marmara raid in 2010, was questioned Oct. 14 at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Rear-Admiral Eliezer Marom dismissed media speculations, saying the questioning was not unusual and was not asked about the Mavi Marmara raid. “I was questioned for five minutes or less,” he told Army Radio on the night of Oct. 14. “It was in the immigration hall, I was not taken to a side room,” Marom said, according to the Jerusalem Post.

“They asked me some questions. They took my passport. But they did not even ask me half a question about the issue [of the Mavi Marmara].” He explained the incident as “unusual” and did not elaborate as to what kind of questions he was asked.

Marom was chief of the navy from 2007 to 2011, a period including the Mavi Marmara raid that killed nine Turkish citizens. Israel formally apologized to Turkey in March over the killings. It also agreed to redress the damages and loss of life and promised to lift an embargo imposed on the Gaza Strip.