July 2016 Turkish military asylum incident in Greece

The ministry of migration policy will attempt to block a decision by an independent tribunal to grant asylum to a second Turkish officer of the eight who fled to the country after the failed coup in Turkey in 2016, state-run news agency ANA-MPA reported on Tuesday.

The officer was reportedly granted asylum earlier in the day and was expected to be released from police detention.

A Greek Asylum Committee has reportedly granted asylum to a second Turkish serviceman, among the eight, that fled Turkey following the July coup attempt in 2016.

A few months ago, the asylum committee had granted asylum to another one of the eight soldiers.

A Turkish civilian arrested by Greek soldiers for straying into Greece has been deported to Turkey, the Greek police said on May 5.

The Council of State on Friday started considering the appeal for political asylum of one of the eight Turkish servicemen who fled to Greece following a coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016.

The verdict by the country's highest administrative court, which is expected over the coming days, is also likely to apply to the other seven servicemen.

Judges at Greece's highest administrative court on Friday were discussing the fate of a Turkish serviceman who is seeking asylum in Greece after being accused by Ankara of taking part in the botched coup of 2016.

Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul has written to his Greek counterpart Stavros Kontonis saying "Greece is becoming a gathering place for criminals" following a court ruling releasing one of eight Turkish servicemen seeking asylum in Greece, Anadolu reported on Saturday.

Turkey said the recent Greek court decision to release Süleyman Özkaynakçı, who sought asylum in Greece, “demonstrates once again that Greece protects coup plotters.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has slammed a decision by the Council of State on Thursday ordering the release of one of the eight Turkish servicemen who have sought political asylum in Greece, accusing Athens of "protecting the coup plotters." 

The Council of State on Thursday ordered the release of one of the eight Turkish servicemen who have sought political asylum in Greece though it ordered that he remain under tight security at an undisclosed location amid fears for his safety. 

Greece's highest court on April 19 approved the release from custody of one of eight former Turkish soldiers who have applied for asylum in Greece after fleeing Turkey following a failed 2016 coup in the neighboring country.