The Mavi Marmara
Photo: AFP
Turkey demands names of soldiers involved in flotilla raid
Ankara Prosecution sends Justice Ministry letter demanding to receive names of all Naval, military and ministerial officials involved in decision to raid Marmara in May 2010
The Turkish Prosecution demands Israel divulge the identity of the Naval Commandos who participated in the deadly raid on the Mavi Marmara, in May of 2010.
A Justice Ministry official said Israel was unfamiliar with the demand.
The Marmara was the lead vessel in last May's aid sail to Gaza Strip. Israeli commandos attempting to stop the ship from breaching the Gaza blockade boarded the ship after it refused the Navy's hails to stop. The ensuing violence resulted in the death of nine Turkish activists.
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According to a Saturday report in the Turkish daily Zaman, Ankara sent the Justice Ministry a letter demanding it disclose the names and addresses of all Navy and military personnel involved, as well as the details of all government officials involved in ordering the raid.
The demand was reportedly based on the testimonies of over 500 activists who were aboard the Marmara and claimed they were "grossly mistreated" by the Israeli soldiers.
Meanwhile, Turkey threatened to withdraw from the United Nations panel investigating the raid over what it called its finding's "soft wording," which favor Israel.
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet, Ankara said the panel's findings "fall short of concluding that Israel violated International Law" when its commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara.
Israel and Turkey were both handed a draft of the UN report ahead of its intended public release later this month. Ankara has since said it would "disassociate itself from the report" unless radical changes were made to its findings.
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