The verdict was announced in the MOSSAD case, and 18 defendants were released.

In the past months, 56 people were arrested in our country for allegedly spying on behalf of the Israeli intelligence through operations carried out. In Turkey, 56 defendants are being tried at the Istanbul 28th Heavy Penal Court with a demand for imprisonment of up to 12 years each on charges of "obtaining information that should be kept secret by the state for political or military espionage" by establishing an 'Online Operation Team' and transferring information and documents to the Israeli Secret Service MOSSAD via the internet.

20 defendants who are in custody were brought to the court under the escort of gendarmerie from the prisons they are held in. Some of the defendants who are not in custody and their lawyers were also present in the court.

"SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE EXISTS"

The prosecutor presenting his opinion on the merits stated that sufficient evidence has been obtained that all defendants were in a financial relationship with the 'Online Operation Team' established by the Israeli Intelligence Service and that they obtained information in exchange for money using intelligence methods within these online networks.

CHANGE IN THE CRIME ARTICLE

In the opinion, it was stated that although the defendants were charged with the crime of 'Political or Military Espionage', it has not been proven that the information obtained by the defendants is from the information that should be kept secret for the security of the state or internal or external political interests, and it has been understood that the information they obtained is from the 'prohibited' information and that they obtained this information for the purpose of 'espionage'. The prosecution requested that all 56 defendants be sentenced to imprisonment of up to 12 years each for the crime of 'Obtaining Prohibited Information for Espionage' and that the detention of the defendants in custody be continued.

When asked about their statements on the merits, the defendants requested time to prepare their defenses against the opinion by denying the charges. The defendants in custody also requested release.

18 DEFENDANTS RELEASED

The court decided to release 18 out of the 20 defendants in custody, taking into account the time they have been held in custody, under judicial control. The court also lifted the travel bans on 36 defendants and adjourned the trial until September 17 for them to prepare their defenses against the opinion.