Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soilo, who claimed that the Israeli couple released from prison are guilty of "military-political espionage", is facing another embarrassment.
Journalist Moisser Yildiz, whom Soilo called on social media as a "member of the Kurdish underground" (PKK), has won a defamation lawsuit against him, the newspaper "Birgon" reported this week.
In the same tweet from May 2020, which dealt with the operation of the Turkish security forces against the Kurdish underground in Kars province, the Turkish Interior Minister conspiratorially claimed that Yildiz was actually involved in the activities of the Kurdish underground.
"What saddens me is that you are a fan of the Kurdish underground," the minister added.
"You choose to do business with losers wearing disguises of state attire."
The same serious allegations by Soilo led to the sudden arrest of Yildiz within three days, on a charge similar to the Oknin couple - military and political espionage.
Finally, when they realized that there was no evidentiary basis against her - she was released.
"Soilo's tweet had no characteristic of injury but of criticism, and as a famous journalist - Yildiz is required to absorb such," the interior minister's lawyers argued in court.
According to them, "Soilo had nothing to do with the arrest of Yildiz."
Yildiz herself, on the other hand, appeared in court.
"Before my arrest, I was under surveillance for four months - and later for another two months," the journalist said.
The arrest, she said, "was made three days after I filed the defamation lawsuit against Soilo."
Finally, the court accepted the defamation suit filed by the journalist - however, if he chose to do so, Soilo would be able to appeal to a higher court.
The Oknin couple in Istanbul.
They too were accused by the minister of espionage, Photo: From Facebook
During the eight-day detention of Natalie and the Oknin rebels, the Turkish government maintained complete silence - except for one person, Interior Minister Suleiman Soilo, who took advantage of a joint press conference on Tuesday with the Mongolian defense minister to try to justify the arrest of the Israeli tourist couple.
"They not only watched the house, but also marked it," said Minister Soilo, among others.
He said, "They were arrested on charges of military-political espionage. The matter was transferred to the State Attorney's Office with the information in their possession. Here, too, the State Attorney's Office conducted an assessment, and the arrest was made."
However, just a day after the press conference, the couple was released - and Silo was left with the embarrassment and criticism of the affair.