Turkish citizen to be tried for visiting Israel

Ataseven, who has received death threats on social media, maintains his innocence and plans legal action to fight against the case.

By JNS

A 29-year-old Turkish citizen who visited Israel last month and posted on social media a picture of himself next to an Israeli flag on a Tel Aviv beach will go on trial in September in Istanbul, JNS has learned.

Umut Ataseven was arrested, fired from his job at Turkish Airlines and forbidden to travel abroad after posting the picture in a WhatsApp group during an April visit to Israel.

A screenshot of the photo was subsequently posted on Twitter with false allegations that he was a dual citizen who was taking part in a “genocide” against the Palestinians in Gaza as an Israeli soldier.

On his return to Turkey, he was fired from his job as a visa/passport officer for the Istanbul ground handling company of Turkish Airlines. Four hours later, Ataseven was taken into police custody.

He was released on the condition that he report to a police station near his home twice a week ahead of a Sept. 26 trial, and has been barred from leaving the country.

Ataseven subsequently faced additional charges for incitement over an Oct. 7, 2023, Twitter post following the Hamas-led massacre in which he wrote that a Palestinian state was “de facto over” in light of the single worst attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

“Those who see Hamas’ civilian massacre as legitimate to defend Palestine may also find the PKK legitimate one day in the future,” he wrote.

Nevzat Çiçek, the editor of Independent Türkçe, a Turkish affiliate of the British newspaper The Independent, where Ataseven previously served as a freelance contributor, wrote on social media that his past articles had to do with Jewish history and antiquity, and none were about the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Çiçek did not respond to an email request Sunday for comment.

The ground staff for Turkish Airlines, known by its acronym TGS, also declined to comment on his sudden dismissal.

Ataseven, who has received death threats on social media, maintains his innocence and plans legal action to fight against the case.

About 14,000 Jews live in Turkey.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has emerged as one of the most vociferous critics of Israel in the world during the war against Hamas in Gaza triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.