The Turkish Defense Ministry on Wednesday stated that a Greek decision to grant asylum to terrorists of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization was “an example of a lack of foresight.”
The statement came after Greece’s General Council of State rejected the Greek government's appeal against the asylum of one of the eight ex-Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece after the July 2016 defeated coup.
The General Council of State, which is the supreme administrative court of Greece, made its decision on Süleyman Özkaynakci's case Tuesday, setting a precedent for other cases involving seven fugitive Turkish soldiers.
A few hours after the July 2016 defeated coup to overthrow the Turkish government, eight ex-military personnel had arrived in Greece on a hijacked Black Hawk helicopter and requested asylum.
Turkey had immediately issued an extradition request, which was eventually declined by the Greek Supreme Court in January 2017, after a series of trials and appeals.
Turkish authorities have said that the soldiers are involved in the defeated July 2016 coup and are members of FETÖ.
FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
