Israel adjourns trial of Turkish charity employee

An Israeli court in Beersheba has adjourned the trial of a Turkish charity employee in the occupied Gaza Strip, Anadolu has reported. The court made the decision against Mohamed Mortaja without meeting the defendant.

The trial is now scheduled for 10 September. The employee of TİKA — the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency — has been detained by Israel since 12 February.

On 21 March. Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, indicted Mortaja on charges of working for the military wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades; membership of a hostile organisation; contacting foreign spies; and planning a conspiracy against the state.

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Defence lawyer Khalid Zabarqeh told the court that his client denies the allegations. He stressed that Mortaja has been employed solely on humanitarian projects and programmes that helped many of the needy Palestinians in Gaza.

Mortaja started working with TİKA in 2012. He is married and has four children.