A Turkish court on Friday extended the arrest of the Israeli couple who were arrested for photographing the palace of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with Turkish prosecutors telling the judge that they suspect them of espionage.

The decision came as a total surprise to Israeli officials since Turkish police had recommended that the couple be deported from the country. Instead, the court ruled that the couple must stay in jail until their trial, which will take place in at least 20 days.

The couple has been identified as Mordy and Natali Oknin, both bus drivers for Egged, who were vacationing in Turkey. During a tour of the country, they innocently photographed Erdogan’s palace and sent the photos to their family’s Whatsapp group with the caption: “What a nice home.” But prosecutors accused them of photographing the palace’s cameras and security checkpoints and claimed that they highlighted those features and sent them to a third party.

Turkish officials did not notify Israel about their arrest and Oknin’s relatives only found out about the incident from the wife of their Turkish tour guide who was also arrested. The Oknins left their five-year-old son who is on the autistic spectrum with a relative while vacationing and he is confused by his parents’ absence. “His mother would call him every few hours and talk to him on Skype,” a relative told Ynet. “Now he’s confused and is constantly asking ‘Where’s Abba and Ima?’ We don’t know what to tell him, it breaks our hearts.”

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spoke to Oknin’s relatives and told them that Israel’s Embassy in Ankara and Consulate-General in Istanbul have requested an urgent consular visit to the couple and are taking action to release them through various channels. The Foreign Ministry has released a statement that the couple “does not work for any Israeli agency.”

“It is clear that this was a political, rather than a legal, decision,” a source who is knowledgeable about the Turkish legal system told Channel 12 News. “It’s clear that Erdogan’s associates reported the case to him as if they are Mossad agents on a mission to Israel.”

“It’s a ridiculous accusation,” an Israeli official said, as reported by Ynet. “Google has better pictures than those taken by the Israeli couple from afar.”

The arrest comes three weeks after Turkey announced it had uncovered a Mossad ring in the country, arresting at least 15 alleged agents.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)