Greece is to revoke asylum granted by one of the country’s courts to a Turkish soldier accused of having a role in last year’s failed coup in Turkey.
The Greek Asylum Appeals Authority had made the decision about Suleyman Ozkayakci on Friday, allowing him to be released a day later from a police precinct. Also held at the precinct are seven Turkish officers, who fled to Greece in a military helicopter after the putsch in July 2016.
The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ office announced on Saturday that “following [the government’s] established position on the eight Turkish military officers,” it had applied for invalidation of the tribunal’s decision.
Turkey reacted angrily to the court’s ruling, saying it would be affecting the bilateral ties.
“By granting asylum to one of eight coup plotters involved in the July 15 coup, Greece has once again showed that it is a country that protects and embraces coup plotters with this decision,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in the statement.
Omiros Zelios, one of the lawyers representing the officers, however, told The Associated Press that the procedure at the Appeals Court could last one to two years.
Ankara has asked for all the officers to be extradited.
Greece’s Supreme Court refused to extradite them in January 2017, arguing they were unlikely to face a fair trial in Turkey.
Ever since the coup, the Turkish government has imposed an emergency rule over the country.
It has also expelled thousands from the public services, claiming they bear links to Fetullah Gulen, a US-based preacher and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s nemesis, whom Ankara says masterminded the coup. Gulen denies the allegation.
