Attorney Nir Yeslovich on Monday visited Mordy Oknin, one of the Israelis who were arrested in Turkey last week after photographing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's palace in Istanbul. Tomorrow he is also expected to visit Mordy's wife Natali, who is also being held in prison.
"Thanks to the efforts of the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Consulate, I was able to enter the detention center where Mordy was," Yeslovich told the media. "I can confirm that the conditions in which he is staying are not easy. He was excited to see someone who speaks Hebrew. I strengthened him, explained to him the situation he is in. I told him that the entire country is following this story."
"He asked me how long it would take, how the method works here. Why am I under arrest? Why was I arrested?" Yeslovich added. "Without being too theatrical. the meeting included many tears, both his and mine. I promised him I would bring him back to Israel and I intend to keep that promise. I can say that his conditions are not good. I intend to pick up the phone to whoever needs to improve his conditions. He should be separated from the other prisoners. It makes a lot of sense here. He should have appropriate conditions."
Earlier Monday, the Turkish government granted Israeli diplomats permission to visit the Oknin couple in prison.
The Israeli Embassy in Ankara and the Consulate General of Israel in Istanbul are working to coordinate the date of the visit with Turkish authorities to ensure it is held as soon as possible.
Israel continues to work with Turkish authorities to bring about the couple's release, so far without much success, and at the same time is trying to understand whether this is a one-off event or part of the implementation of a decision to launch an initiated crisis between Turkey and the Israeli government.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the couple were innocent civilians who were wrongfully arrested. "The Foreign Minister and I, and additional officials, dealt with this throughout the weekend. These are two innocent civilians who have been mistakenly caught up in a complex situation. I spoke yesterday with the family and we are doing everything to resolve the issue. I asked that the family stay strong, despite the great difficulty. We are with you. Beyond this, it would not be proper to expand at the moment."