Court freezes decision to grant asylum to Turkish serviceman

An administrative court on Monday issued an order to temporarily freeze a decision to grant asylum to one of eight Turkish servicemen who fled to Greece after a failed Turkish coup in 2016 with the case to be heard next month.

The court on Monday accepted an appeal by the state to suspend the ruling last month by a tribunal.

Lawyers representing the Greek state argued that granting asylum to a serviceman accused of involvement in a attempted coup in Turkey could hurt bilateral relations.

The Greek state's appeal for the asylum decision to be halted is to be heard on February 15.

Lawyers representing the Turkish serviceman said that the decision to grant him asylum was fully justified and substantiated and cannot be overturned by any court.

They added that the Greek state is obliged to protect people fleeing persecution and torture. 

The Greek...