2024-09-06 03:01:15
A lawyer representing the family of a Kosovo man who was arrested in Turkey for allegedly transferring money to Mossad agents there said today that the suspect is innocent and offered the family cooperation in the investigation, the Associated Press reported.
The suspect, identified as Liridon Redzepi, entered Turkey on August 25 and was detained last Friday and formally arrested on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reported, citing AP. He admitted during the interrogation that he made the money transfers.
Since January, Turkish authorities have detained dozens of people on charges of collecting data on individuals, mostly Palestinians living in Turkey, for Israeli intelligence.
So far, Israel has not commented on the arrests in Turkey, writes BTA.
In the Kosovo capital, Pristina, lawyer Arianit Koci said Rexhepi’s family was “shocked by this arrest” and was convinced he had “nothing to do with these charges”.
“Both the family and Liridon are willing to cooperate fully with authorities,” he told The Associated Press, adding that “due to the sensitivity of the case, there is no information to share with the public at this time.”
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been one of the strongest critics of Israel’s military actions in the war-torn coastal enclave and has praised Palestinian Hamas fighters as a liberation group.
In May, Turkey suspended its trade with Israel and also filed a request to participate in a genocide case against Israel at the UN International Court of Justice.