Turkey seeks life sentence for flotilla attackers

A Turkish prosecutor will seek life imprisonment for four Israeli commanders in connection with the 2010 interception of a Gaza-bound ship during which nine Turks were killed, Turkish daily Sabah has said. Gabi Ashkenazi, Israel’s military chief of staff during the May 31, 2010, raid on the Mavi Marmara ship from Turkey that sought to breach the Gaza Strip blockade, and three others will be tried as fugitive defendants, the newspaper reported, citing Istanbul prosecutor Mehmet Akif Ekinci’s indictment. The 144-page document charges that Israeli officials deliberately killed, wounded and tortured the pro-Palestinian activists who sought to end the embargo, according to Sabah. The prosecution will file the indictment after final approval from a chief attorney, the newspaper reported.