Israeli officials claim that Turkey will prevent criminal trials over Mavi Marmara: Report

JERUSALEM

Nine Turkish citizens were killed during the Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara ship on May 31, 2010.

The adoption method of the compensation agreement between Turkey and Israel over the Mavi Marmara raid will prevent Turkish citizens from filing criminal charges against Israeli soldiers involved in the Gaza flotilla incident, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported April 27, quoting senior officials. 

"The agreement between Israel and Turkey over reparations to the Gaza flotilla victims' families is slated to be brought before Turkey's Parliament in Ankara for approval. According to senior Israeli officials, once it passes, the agreement will be legislated into a law that will prevent Turkish citizens from filing of criminal charges against [Israeli] soldiers and officers involved in the Gaza flotilla incident," the report said.

The Hürriyet Daily News also reported on April 27 that if the deal was to be adopted by the Turkish Parliament and become a binding law, it would surpass local court's authority, leading to the criminal case being dropped.

The criminal case against the Israeli soldiers opened in an Istanbul court will not be automatically dropped after the eventual compensation deal, however a notification will be send to the judge in this court. The judge can use his discretion authority to drop the case if he sees fit, but he can also decide to move on with the trial. However if the agreement becomes law, the judge would not have any discretion authority as international agreements are superior to internal arrangements. Senior officials had told the Hürriyet Daily New that they were still to decide the adoption method. 

According to Haaretz, the Israeli government is also expected submit the agreement for approval in the Knesset, so that its status will become that of an international treaty.

A new round of talks is scheduled to take place next week in Israel, after officials from both countries met in Ankara last week.

Haaretz also claims that Turkey wants to gain some ground in the negotiations before Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Washington May 16.