Ekip
16 March 2017•Update: 17 March 2017
By Turgut Alp Boyraz and Eshat Firat
JERUSALEM
An Israeli court on Thursday extended the detention of Mohamed Murtaja, a Palestinian employee of Turkish aid agency TIKA arrested by Israel in mid-February.
At the request of Israeli prosecutors, the duration of Murtaja’s detention was not disclosed.
The next court session has been scheduled for next Sunday.
Reporters were allowed to attend the first 40 minutes of Thursday’s hearing and take photographs of the defendant.
"I await the prayers of the Turkish people,” he said. “I believe I did the right thing; that I did nothing wrong."
After reporters left the courtroom, the hearing went on for another 20 minutes.
Despite having obtained permission to enter Israel, Murtaja was taken into custody on Feb. 12 at Israel’s Erez border crossing with the Gaza Strip while traveling to Turkey to attend a TIKA meeting in Ankara.
Murtaja has been accused by the Israeli authorities of "cooperating with Hamas; being a member of an enemy organization; having contact with enemy spies; and plotting against state security”.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry and Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv, meanwhile, have maintained diplomatic efforts with a view to securing his release.
Married with four children, Murtaja has worked for the Turkish aid agency in Gaza since 2012.
* Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara
