Greece rejects three Turkish coup plotter soldiers' asylum applications

Greece's political asylum commission on Sept. 21 rejected the asylum application of three of the eight coup plotter soldiers who escaped to the country after the failed coup attempt of July 15, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

The application of one of the soldiers was rejected on the grounds of evidence that he participated in the coup attempt, while the other two soldiers refused to cooperate with the Greek authorities, the agency quoted Greek Justice Ministry sources as saying.

The ministry will now make the final decision on the extradition of the soldiers.

The other five coup plotter soldiers will be re-interviewed by the asylum commission in Athens next week. The soldiers have the right to appeal the decision to a higher commission or Greek courts.

The two majors, four captains and two non-commissioned officers had escaped to Alexandroupolis near the Turkish border with a military helicopter, one day after the failed coup attempt.

They requested asylum in the country as Ankara asked for their immediate extradition on suspicion of involvement in the coup attempt.

In late July, a local Greek court sentenced the eight soldiers to two-month suspended prison terms on charges of illegally entering the country. They had initially been transferred to Kavala from Feres prison due to security reasons, before eventually being brought to a camp near Athens.

The hearing of the asylum claim of the first of the eight soldiers with the asylum commission in Athens began on Aug. 19.

During the interview, the first three soldiers said they had also verbally sought asylum in France, Spain and Belgium in order to avoid extradition to Turkey.
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