An Israeli couple in their 40s were arrested in Istanbul after being seen photographing the home of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while on a cruise, Channel 12 News reported on Thursday.

According to the report, the couple was on a cruise for tourists which passed the presidential palace and the wife innocently took photos and sent them to her family Whatsapp group, unaware that it was illegal.

The woman’s sister told Channel 12: “They were supposed to return on Tuesday and they suddenly disappeared. We’re very worried.”

The report said that the Foreign Ministry is aware of the incident and is making efforts to solve it.

In a letter sent to Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, the couple’s attorney Nir Jaslovitz wrote: “I am turning to you with an urgent appeal to take action for the release of my clients who were arrested in Turkey since their entire ‘crime’ was that they photographed the President’s palace in Istanbul. The couple was taking part in a cruise for tourists during which they photographed the palace when the ship passed close by, which shows that it was an innocent act – a tourist act – and not a ‘criminal’ act which justifies their arrest, an act that deprived my clients of their freedom in a foreign country.”

Photos of #Erdogan's extravagant 'summer palace' revealed amid mass poverty

👉 When will the people of #Turkey finally wake up? https://t.co/VugH93dVU3 pic.twitter.com/GwP7VLrSrJ

— George (@gmas73) July 5, 2021

“I am of the opinion that the case falls precisely within the scope of exceptional cases in which the Foreign Ministry must assist Israeli citizens who find themselves detained in a foreign country under unacceptable conditions,” the attorney concluded.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)