Turkiye to release Israeli imprisoned for smuggling qat leaves

An Israeli who received a ten-year prison sentence in Turkiye for possession and attempted smuggling of illegal qat leaves will be released over the weekend, reported the Times of Israel.

Danny Aweke, 35, was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of smuggling qat leaves through Turkiye, where the substance is considered an illegal, and was later convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison.

However, according to i24 News, the Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen recently sent a letter to his Turkish counterpart, requesting the detainee’s “special situation” be taken into account.

During his imprisonment, Danny was transferred to another facility due to harassment by Syrian and Iranian inmates who discovered that he was Israeli. He was later released into house arrest and moved to a halfway house 18 months ago to ease prison overcrowding but barred from leaving the country.

READ: Israel man arrested in Turkiye on suspicion of stealing ancient bell

“This is further proof of the supreme efforts the Foreign Ministry is making on behalf of the citizens of Israel. This is a humanitarian and sensitive case and I thank President Isaac Herzog for the joint work and my colleague, the Turkish Foreign Minister, for understanding the urgent need to promote the release of Danny Awaka,” said the Israeli foreign minister.

“The warming of relations between Israel and Turkey played a major role in promoting this case to its successful conclusion. I wish Danny to return to Israel and embrace his family after these difficult years,” he added.

He expressed his appreciation on X, formerly known as Twitter, of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for helping to attain Danny’s release.

שמח שלאחר התערבות של נשיא המדינה הרצוג, שלי ושל גורמים נוספים, דני אווקה, שנדון לעשר שנות מאסר, יחזור ב״ה בתחילת השבוע למשפחתו.
זהו חלק מהמאמצים הרבים שמדינת ישראל ושמשרד החוץ עושה למען אזרחי ישראל, ועדות להתחממות היחסים בין ישראל לטורקיה.
אני מודה לנשיא ארדואן ולשר החוץ פידאן… pic.twitter.com/t4yIIHPcce

— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) August 17, 2023

Turkish authorities have not provided confirmation regarding Danny’s case.