Police arrest 15 suspects spying for Israel
ISTANBUL
The Turkish police have arrested 15 of the 34 suspects who were accused of planning abductions and spying on behalf of Israel's Mossad intelligence service within the country, sources said.
The suspects were detained in raids in Istanbul and seven other provinces for allegedly planning to carry out activities that included “reconnaissance" and "pursuing, assaulting, and kidnapping” foreign nationals living in Türkiye, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in an X post on Jan. 2.
The police have been obtaining statements from the suspects for the past four days; these statements were presented in court subsequent to a health check, according to sources who requested anonymity due to media restrictions.
The detained suspects were transferred to the Istanbul Palace of Justice after the completion of their procedures.
26 suspects were brought before the Criminal Judgeship of the Peace on Duty with a request to be arrested for "military and political espionage" after the prosecution's proceedings.
The court's on-duty officers detained and jailed 15 suspects. 11 suspects were released under conditions of judicial control. Additionally, it was disclosed that the provincial migration administration will be entrusted with the deportation proceedings of eight suspects.
According to the referral letter addressed to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace, individuals affiliated with the Israeli Intelligence Service established a remote operation team using internet-based mobile applications. The team's objectives included conducting reconnaissance work for their targets in the field and transferring funds to their sources via couriers.
The referral letter also included that one of the suspects asked the other for a video of the interior and exterior of the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul and received 150–200 dollars in return.
The sources mentioned that various foreign intelligence services had previously tried to carry out illegal activities on Turkish territory but without success, stressing that no foreign intelligence service would be allowed to carry out such operations in Türkiye.