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The trial of 35 people, among them Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over an armed intervention against the Global Sumud Flotilla has begun at the Istanbul 11th Heavy Penal Court. The indictment was prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office over an incident involving civilians, including Turkish citizens, who were trying to carry humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Some of the complainants attended the hearing, along with Rıza Saka, president of the Istanbul No. 2 Bar Association, a large number of lawyers and spectators. The session continued with statements from the complainants.

Hearing opens in Istanbul

The case is being heard at the Istanbul 11th Heavy Penal Court. Some of the complainants were present in the courtroom, and the session was attended by Rıza Saka, president of the Istanbul No. 2 Bar Association, together with many lawyers. Spectators also took seats in the gallery.

The hearing was continuing with the complainants' statements. The indictment was sent to the Istanbul 10th Heavy Penal Court, while the trial is being conducted by the 11th Heavy Penal Court.

What the indictment says about the flotilla

The indictment, drafted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, states that the long-running armed conflict in Gaza and the deliberate, sustained blocking of access to basic necessities, including food, water, electricity, fuel and health services, led civil society groups in several countries to organize humanitarian initiatives.

According to the filing, the maritime operation known publicly as the Sumud Flotilla brought together citizens of different countries to bring aid to a population subjected to a major humanitarian disaster by acts that the prosecution assesses as genocide, crimes against humanity and other breaches of international law. The mission also aimed to draw attention to grave rights violations in the region and to make visible an international reaction of conscience in defense of human dignity.

The indictment recalls that the fleet, which included civilians who were citizens of the Republic of Türkiye, was intercepted by Israeli security forces while sailing in the Eastern Mediterranean. The people on board were brought under physical control without their consent, and some were removed from the ships by force and taken to Israel. Turkish citizens were later deported and arrived in Türkiye by air on 4, 7, 9 and 10 October 2025.

Prosecution argues intervention exceeded security measure

The filing describes widespread and systematic attacks on civilians in Gaza, destruction of the means of civilian life, obstruction of humanitarian aid, condemning the population to hunger, thirst and lack of treatment, forced displacement of civilians, and the deliberate creation of living conditions suitable for partly or wholly destroying the physical existence of a group. Israel's actions in the region, it says, cannot be assessed merely as a security measure and are directly linked to acts amounting to genocide and crimes against humanity under international criminal law.

Under the circumstances and location where it took place, the interception of civilian vessels in international waters, the deprivation of the people on board of their liberty against their will and their forced transfer to another country could carry serious legal consequences for the right to liberty and security, freedom of travel, the prohibition of ill-treatment and the protection of human dignity. The treatment of Turkish citizens during this process must be assessed in the light of the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the international human rights treaties Türkiye has joined, the indictment says, adding that the state has a duty to conduct an effective investigation into unlawful interferences with citizens' rights.

Citing the fight against impunity and the rule of law in international law, the prosecution argues that acts alleged to violate fundamental rights and freedoms must be investigated regardless of the perpetrator's status, the place where the incident occurred or its international dimension. It says prosecutors opened an investigation on their own initiative under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Article 15 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 5271 and the relevant jurisdiction provisions of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237.

Victims sent to Türkiye by air underwent forensic and psychological examinations at the Istanbul Council of Forensic Medicine, and the reports were forwarded to the prosecutor's office, where they were heard as complainant-victims. Letters were also sent to the Istanbul Provincial Police Directorate and the National Intelligence Organization to establish the material facts and identify those responsible.

Suspects and sentencing demands

The prosecution says evidence collected from victims' accounts, open-source images and official correspondence shows that those who carried out the interception and directed the operation acted with shared intent and joint control, and that the incident was planned and organized under joint perpetration. The suspects are described as holding posts at various levels of the Israeli state and as acting together against the complainant-victims aboard the flotilla, boarding the civilian vessels in an armed and organized manner and depriving the victims of their liberty against their will.

The indictment also records that some complainant-victims were injured during the intervention, that the act was carried out with weapons and by more than one person acting together, and that the suspects subjected the victims to systematic ill-treatment and degrading conduct offensive to human dignity.

The 35 suspects are accused of crimes against humanity, genocide, deprivation of liberty, torture, damage to property, qualified robbery and the obstruction, seizure or detention of means of transport. The prosecution seeks aggravated life sentences for each suspect, together with prison terms ranging from 1,102 years and nine months up to 4,596 years.

Named as suspects are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu and Public Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, as well as Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir, Israeli Navy Commander David Saar Salama, Chief of General Staff Spokesperson Arye Shalicar, Israeli Defense Forces Spokesperson Unit head Daniel Hagari, Operations Directorate head Itzhak Cohen and the commander of the 146th Division, Beni Aharon.

The list continues with former Mossad director Yossi Cohen and a group of Israeli political, military and public figures, among them Yigal Brand, Knesset member Tally Gotliv, retired colonels Ran Cohen and Omer Barlev, Tom Elgara, Yehuda Vach, journalist Yoav Zaitoun, rabbi Nir Ifergan, social media figure Sivan Amitai and Ghassan Alian. The other suspects include Israeli military officers, media figures and private citizens.

The indictment names a large group of individuals as complainants, including Turkish citizens and foreign nationals, with the Istanbul No. 2 Bar Association listed in the capacity of reporting party.

Key takeaways

• The trial of 35 suspects, among them Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, began at the Istanbul 11th Heavy Penal Court over an armed intervention on the Global Sumud Flotilla.
• The prosecution describes the fleet's interception in the Eastern Mediterranean as a planned, organized act that deprived people of their liberty and forcibly transferred them to Israel.
• Charges include genocide, crimes against humanity, deprivation of liberty and torture, with aggravated life sentences sought alongside prison terms of up to 4,596 years.
• Turkish citizens deported after the incident arrived in Türkiye on 4, 7, 9 and 10 October 2025 and were examined at the Istanbul Council of Forensic Medicine.