Turkey’s High Criminal Court is moving ahead with the case against senior Israeli military officials for their decision-making role in the commando operation against the terrorist ship Mavi Marmara, the so-called peace ship that tried to break the Israeli marine embargo on Gaza in May 2010.

Special Prosecutor Mehmet Akif Ekinci will present the Istanbul Seventh High Criminal Court with the charges being filed against former IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gabi Ashkenazi, former Israel Navy Commander Admiral Eliezer Marom, former Israel Air Force Commander Major-General Amos Yadlin and former Air Force Chief Intelligence Officer Avishai Levy. Being that the defendants are not in Turkey, they are being tried in absentia.

If the state prosecutor has his way, the defendants will receive life in prison for their part in the commando raid which left a number of Turkish citizens dead.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been unrelenting in his demand for an Israeli apology and admission of guilt, cutting diplomatic ties over the commando operation, which left members of the navy’s elite commando unit seriously wounded since they were instructed not to use lethal force. The commandos thought they were boarding a civilian ship but the moment they arrived, they came under attack by anti-Israeli terrorists in the guise of “peace activists”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)