ATHENS

Five Turkish citizens, including a family of three were arrested for illegally entering Greece last week, according to the Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection.

The five crossed the Evros River and arrived in Orestiada in northern Greece on Thursday, where Greek authorities detained them for illegal entry, a ministry official told Anadolu Agency.

According to the weekly Thess News newspaper, the five fled Turkey after the July 15 failed coup because of their “Gulenist and Kemalist associations”.

In Turkey, a "Gulenist" association is usually considered as a reference to links with the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which the Turkish government blames for the deadly putsch.

The group of five plans to seek asylum in Greece, the paper added.

All five are being held at the Feres police station in northern Greece and are scheduled to appear before a prosecutor in the following days, Thess News reports. They are also expected to submit a formal application requesting political asylum, according to the newspaper.

Since the July 15 coup attempt left more than 240 martyred and almost 2,000 injured, at least 23 Turkish citizens have fled their country and requested asylum in Greece, arriving either at Eastern Aegean islands or at the Northern parts of the Greek mainland.