July 2016 Turkish military asylum incident in Greece

A Greek court on Jan. 8 suspended the asylum status granted to a former Turkish soldier, who is accused by the Turkish government of plotting the July 15, 2016 coup attempt along with seven others, and detained him, saying it will make a final decision on the fugitive on Feb. 15.

Greece won on Monday a temporary injunction suspending the asylum status granted to a Turkish soldier who fled with seven others to the country after a botched coup attempt against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in 2016, according to Reuters. 

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.

With Turkish authorities insisting on the extradition of eight Turkish servicemen who fled their country after a thwarted coup in 2016, and amid rising tensions in the Aegean, there are fears in Athens of a further degeneration in Greek-Turkish ties.

A court in Athens agreed on Jan. 5 to review the Greek government's request to stay a ruling that granted asylum to a former Turkish serviceman who had fled to Greece in a military helicopter after a failed coup in Turkey in July 2016.     

Greece may try eight dismissed Turkish soldiers who had fled to the country after the July 2016 defeated coup attempt, a Greek minister said on Jan. 4.

Conservative New Democracy opposition on Tuesday attacked the administration of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras over its "opportunistic" stance regarding the eight Turkish servicemen who fled to Greece following Turkey's abortive July 2016 coup.

The Greek government applied to the administrative court of appeal on Jan. 2 to invalidate a decision by the country’s Asylum Appeals Authority granting asylum to one of the eight Turkish officers who fled to Greece in a military helicopter after a failed coup in Turkey in July 2016, Reuters has reported.

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos has said the eight Turkish soldiers wanted by Ankara in connection with a failed coup attempt in 2016 "will not be extradited regardless of the outcome of their asylum applications."

The Greek government said on Dec. 30 it will seek to invalidate a decision by the country’s Asylum Appeals Authority to grant asylum to one of eight Turkish officers who fled to Greece in a military helicopter after a failed coup in Turkey in July 2016.