Mavi Marmara Victims File Complaint Against Gov't

Frustrated by the government's failure to seek the issuance of an Interpol Red Notice for the Israeli commanders involved in a fatal 2010 raid on the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara despite more than a year having passed since a Turkish court issued arrest warrants for the officers, the victims of the raid have filed a criminal complaint against the Ministry of Justice and the Foreign Ministry.
The issue of the Mavi Marmara has often emerged on the agenda of the Turkish public, with the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in particular raising the matter on national and international platforms in what many believe is an attempt to gain political points at home.
Despite appearing to be an ardent defender of the victims of the Mavi Marmara, the efforts of the AK Party government were found inadequate by the victims, as they announced that they will file a criminal complaint against the Ministry of Justice for failing to ask Interpol to issue a Red Not ice for the Israeli commanders who had taken part in the raid.
The relatives of the victims of the Mavi Marmara raid filed a criminal complaint with the İstanbul 7th High Criminal Court against officials in the Ministry of Justice and the Foreign Ministry. The plaintiffs accuse the officials, who failed to process an earlier court ruling regarding the issuing of an Interpol Red Notice for the Israeli military officers involved in the raid, of misconduct.
Speaking on behalf of the plaintiffs, Çiğdem Topçuoğlu, the widow of Çetin Topçuoğlu, who died during the flotilla raid, lamented that the court ruling regarding the Israeli commanders has not been enforced despite the fact that 15 months have passed, "due to the obstacles created by state authorities."
In May 2014, the İstanbul 7th High Criminal Court ordered the arrest of retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of General Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, retired Israeli Navy commander Vice Adm. Eliezer Marom, retired IDF Chief of Defense Intelligence Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin and retired Israeli Air Force intelligence head Brig. Gen. Avishai Levi for their role in the deadly raid of the Mavi Marmara.
The inaction of the AK Party government in bringing the Israeli commanders to justice reveals a clear contradiction between its discourse on the Mavi Marmara issue and its policies. The judges who ruled for the arrest of the Israeli commanders were also re-assigned to other judicial posts in different provinces, and the chief judge in the case was demoted.
Since May 31, 2010, when an Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara left eight Turks and a Turkish American dead, the AK Party had urged Israel to offer a formal apology for the deadly raid and pay compensation to the families of those killed in the raid.
After three years of effort in Turkey, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered an apology to Turkey for the raid on the Mavi Marmara. However, the parties have yet to reach a final agreement on the compensation for the victims' families.
The aid ship Mavi Marmara belonged to the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (IHH), whose legal committee, along with representatives of the victims' relatives, had also filed a case against Israel with the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague in October 2010. However, the ICC announced in 2014 that it would not prosecute Israel for its 2010 raid as there was not “sufficient gravity to justify further action by the ICC.” (Cihan/Today’s Zaman)