Israel refers Turkish citizen to military court

By Esat Firat

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli authorities on Wednesday referred detained Turkish citizen Ebru Ozkan to a military court.

"My client was referred today to a military court in the city of Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv on charges of threatening Israel's security and suspected affiliation with terrorist organizations," Omar Khamayasa, the lawyer of Ozkan, told Anadolu Agency.

Khamayasa said he objected to a request by the military prosecutor to detain Ozkan for another 15 days and sought her release.

He said the court had extended the detention of Ozkan for 24 hours, adding that she is slated to appear before the military court tomorrow.

On June 11, Ozkan, 27, was arrested by Israeli police at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv while returning to Turkey.

The Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv said it was closely following the situation.