Greece has rejected an asylum request from three out of a group of eight Turkish soldiers who fled there, following July’s failed military coup in Turkey.
Greece has rejected an asylum request from three out of a group of eight Turkish soldiers who fled there, following July’s failed military coup in Turkey.
The trio were filmed earlier being taken away from Athens’ main asylum office.
Turkey has formally demanded the men’s extradition, branding them ‘‘traitors’‘ and terrorists.
Insisting they would appeal against the ruling, Stavroula Tomara, the lawyer representing the three officers said:
“We have the impression that the decision has been predetermined, and that the interview was conducted just as a formality.”
The soldiers, who deny any involvement in the attempt to topple President Erdogan, landed in Greece in a Black Hawk helicopter four days after the uprising.
It’s not immediately clear when the rulings of the other five defendants will be delivered.