Greek court rules on remaining Turkish asylum soldiers

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS

The Greek Appeals Court on Thursday ruled against extraditing the remaining two out of eight Turkish soldiers seeking asylum in the country.

The men are wanted by the Turkish authorities and are accused of involvement in the July 15 coup plot which killed hundreds of people in Turkey.

Earlier this week, the Greek court ruled that three of the group could be extradited. However, another ruling said three more would not be sent to Turkey. Thursday’s verdict means five of the eight men will not be extradited.

On Tuesday, a prosecutor of the Greek Appeals Court objected to the decision not to extradite three of the Turkish soldiers.

The Greek Supreme Court will evaluate that objection and announce its decision in eight days' time, at the latest.

Eight Turkish soldiers arrived in Greece onboard a hijacked Black Hawk helicopter, a few hours after the failed July 15 coup attempt in Turkey which left 248 people martyred and more than 2,000 injured.

All of them requested asylum in Greece. Their primary requests were initially denied by a Greek court.

The Turkish government has repeatedly requested the extradition of the eight alleged coup plotters, promising to provide fair trials.