Anti-terror squad nets Turk suspects in Athens

Three suspects were to face a prosecutor over the weekend following their arrest by members of Greece’s anti-terrorism squad in the central Athens neighborhood of Exarchia, late Friday.

Police arrested three Turkish nationals – a 40-year-old man and two women aged 24 and 48 – on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization. Interpol had issued a red notice for the 24-year-old, who is also charged with explosives and weapons offences.

The operation appears to be linked to the interception in July of a dinghy containing military-grade weapons and explosives off the eastern Aegean island of Chios. Two Greek and two Turkish men were charged at the time with multiple terrorism offenses after being arrested on the speedboat, with Turkish media identifying one of the suspects as a wanted member of the outlawed leftist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C). Four suspected DHKP-C members, all Turkish Kurds, were arrested after a February raid in the central Athens neighborhood of Gyzi that turned up a large cache of arms and explosives.

In May, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan accused Greece of hosting DHKP-C training camps. Athens has denied the allegations.