A Turkish court has handed down prison sentences to 37 defendants who stood trial on charges of spying for Israeli intelligence service Mossad, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
There were 56 defendants in the trial at the İstanbul 28th High Criminal Court.
The court gave prison sentences of eight years, four months to two of the defendants, who were in pretrial detention, on charges of obtaining secret information for the purpose of spying, while 35 others were handed down a prison sentence of six years, eight months each.
A travel ban has also been imposed on the 35 defendants, who were not in pretrial detention.
The remaining 19 defendants were acquitted of the charges.
Before the ruling, defense lawyers argued that there was no concrete evidence against their clients and asked for their for acquittal.
The indictment, drafted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, sought sentences from 15 up to 20 years for all the defendants on charges of obtaining confidential state information for purposes of political or military spying.
According to the indictment, the Israeli intelligence agency used mobile apps to conduct espionage operations and created an online team to remotely obtain funds, transfer money via couriers and carry out tactical missions aimed at specific operations.
The initial contact between Mossad and the suspects was made via apps such as Telegram and WhatsApp and employment platforms such as LinkedIn.
Communication was strictly limited to these apps, with no video or voice calls allowed. Payments were made using international money transfer services, cryptocurrencies, wire transfer offices and couriers.
Some high-profile suspects were used for more complex tasks, while others who were unlikely to attract suspicion were assigned tactical roles.
They were tasked with managing WhatsApp groups, designing websites and online newspapers, conducting research, transferring money, documenting photos and videos, and even carrying out physical assaults, thefts and surveillance operations against people targeted by Israeli intelligence.
Individuals acting like “detectives,” on the other hand, were tasked with gathering personal information, conducting investigations, monitoring targets and accessing sensitive information from state databases about their targets.
Turkey’s national police department and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) conducted a series of operations earlier this year in which dozens of people suspected of planning kidnappings and engaging in espionage for Mossad were detained. Some of the detainees were later arrested.
These events have heightened tensions between Turkey and Israel as there were reports of Israel’s intention to target members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Turkey.
Turkey, unlike many of its NATO allies, does not recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization and has warned of serious consequences if Israel targets Hamas members within its borders. This series of arrests and the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza have further strained relations between Turkey and Israel. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been vocal in his condemnation of Israeli actions and policies.
Israel began pounding the Palestinian enclave of Gaza after Hamas militants carried out an unprecedented surprise attack in Israel on October 7 that claimed some 1,200 lives.
Israeli air and ground attacks in Gaza have resulted in at least 41,000 deaths since October 7 according to the local health ministry in addition to causing massive destruction in the enclave.