A Turkish woman was arrested in Israel on Monday on suspicion of security offenses, an Israeli official said Thursday.
The suspect has been identified as 27-year-old Ebru Ozkan. Her remand was extended and she was to remain in custody until June 21.
The 27-year-old, who was on her way back to Turkey after spending some time in Israel, is "suspected of jeopardizing national security and maintaining contact with terrorist organizations," the official told Reuters.
The official declined to elaborate on the circumstances of the woman's arrest or whether she had been assigned a lawyer ahead of likely court proceedings.
Turkey's state-run news service Anadolu Agency quoted a lawyer for the woman as saying she was suspected of affiliating with a terrorist organization. The report said the woman was arrested by Israeli police at Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
Ozkan's sister, Elif Ozkan, claimed her sister was being held in a detention center and that Ozkan had not been in contact with her family or a lawyer since her arrest.
"We could not contact my sister in any way. We could not even make a phone call. Even her lawyer could not speak to her, even though he was at court. The lawyer will meet with her on Monday," she said.
"It is unfair and unlawful for a woman to be detained in this way. It's against human rights. Israel is approaching the issue politically. It's an arbitrary detention," she added.
Relations between Israel and Turkey have been tense in recent years. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a vocal critic of Israel's policies toward the Palestinians, an issue that resonates with many Turks, including the nationalist and religious voters who form the base of his support.
