Indictment in Türkiye against top Israeli officials

The Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed an indictment against 35 Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with the armed intervention against the Steadfastness Flotilla ships in international waters.

The investigation conducted by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office’s Anti-Terrorism Bureau revealed that the ships of the civilian maritime organization known as the “Steadfastness Flotilla,” established to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, were subjected to armed interference by Israeli security forces while sailing in international waters.

In this context, an indictment was prepared against 35 suspects, including Israeli ministers, whose roles in planning and execution were determined, and arrest warrants were issued against them.

The indictment stated that attacks against civilians, destruction of livelihoods, prevention of humanitarian aid, and subjecting the population to hunger, thirst, and denial of treatment cannot be assessed as mere security measures, but are directly related to acts that constitute genocide and crimes against humanity from the perspective of international criminal law.

The indictment also stressed that the situation faced by citizens of the Republic of Türkiye must be assessed within the framework of the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, as well as the international human rights conventions to which Türkiye is a party.

It noted that the state has an obligation to conduct an effective investigation and utilize the necessary judicial mechanisms to address any unlawful interference with the fundamental rights of its citizens.

It was confirmed that the attack carried out by the Israeli Navy against the Global Steadfastness Flotilla took place in international waters.

The statement read: “Regarding the victims who were detained as a result of the attack, an investigation was opened by our Public Prosecutor’s Office on its own initiative, within the framework of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the rules of jurisdiction contained in Article 15 of the Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271, and the rules of jurisdiction contained in Articles 12/13 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237”.

In the indictment referred to the 10th High Criminal Court in Istanbul, 35 suspects, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and Navy Commander David Saar-Salama, were asked to be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment separately for crimes against humanity, genocide, deprivation of liberty, torture, damage to property, aggravated robbery, and preventing, kidnapping, or seizing means of transport, in addition to prison sentences ranging from 1,102 years and 9 months each to 4,596 years.