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Turkish prosecutors have completed their investigation into 2010’s raid on the Mavi Marmara passenger ship, in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activistsattempting to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip, Today’s Zaman quoted Turkish Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin as saying on Tuesday.
Turkish news reports claimed last year that intelligence agencies had compiled a list identifying 174 soldiers who could be prosecuted for their involvement in the operation.
Today’s Zaman quoted Ergin as saying on Tuesday that once the Turkish Justice Ministry receives the names of the soldiers involved in the raid from Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, "we will send the indictments to the concerned courts.”
On February 8, 2011, the state-sponsored Turkel Commission Report which examined the events surrounding the flotilla, held that "the naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip…was legal pursuant to the rules of international law."
Moreover, the Report stated that "actions carried out by Israel on May 31, 2010, to enforce the naval blockade had the regrettable consequences of the loss of human life and physical injuries. Nonetheless, and despite the limited number of uses of force for which we could not reach a conclusion, the actions taken were found to be legal pursuant to the rules of international law."
In September, Turkey threatened to take Israel to the International Court of Justice in The Hague over the Marmararaid.
Senior IDF officials have said they are taking legal precautions to protect soldiers and officers who participated in the operation to stop the Mavi Marmara.
The IDF Military Advocate General’s office established a joint team with the Justice Ministry to study the UN-commisioned Palmer Report released in September 2011, which justified Israel’s decision to impose a sea blockade on the Gaza Strip but also harshly criticized the navy’s operation to stop the Gaza-bound flotilla.
The report said that “the loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force by Israeli forces during the takeover of theMavi Marmara was unacceptable.”
The team was studying the legal consequences of the report and possible ways to provide protections to IDF soldiers. Due to this threat, Defense Minister Ehud Barak had tried to broker a compromise with Turkey in an effort to minimize the legal exposure to the commandos.
A senior IDF officer said at the time that the Palmer Report could potentially serve as the basis for criminal lawsuits against the commandos who boarded the ship as well as additional senior IDF officers, including then-commander of the navy V.-Adm. Eliezer Marom and the chief of general staff at the time, Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, for their role in the operation.
Both officers are already vulnerable to legal action due to their involvement in Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip three years ago.