The Turkish High Court opened a hearing yesterday on an appeal against the confiscation of three Israeli fishing trawlers in a setting probably unmatched in the annals of Turkish jurisprudence.
To inspect the “site” where the three ships were seized–the Israelis claim it was outside Turkish territorial waters while the Turkish naval authorities insist it was within Turkish national jurisdiction– the members of the court, the prosecutor and the defense course; boarded an Israeli freighter lying in Iskenderun harbor and sailed out to sea. The round trip look 24 hours and when the vessel, S.M. Tel Aviv, debarked its passengers it asked for Sicily, having taken on a 10,000 ton cargo of iron before weighing another on ## voyage.
The three trawlers, apprehended a year ago, have been the subject of extensive litigation. One appeal against the seizure has already been turned down.
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