Justice minister criticizes Turkey for handling of Greek soldiers' detention

Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis expressed his dismay at the continued detention of two Greek servicemen who were arrested in early March for straying into Turkish territory during a border patrol, citing the lawful response of Greek authorities to similar cases involving three Turkish nationals.

"It is not just the case of the Turk who entered Greek territory and was tried," he told parliament on Monday, referring to the Turkish municipal worker who was apprehended on the Greek side of the border near the village of Kastanies on May 2, charged with illegal entry and then deported on May 5.

Kontonis revealed that two more Turkish nationals who were detained recently at the port of Killini, in western Greece, were subsequently released by an administrative court in the city of Pyrgos, after the judge accepted the Turkish consulate in Athens as their fixed...