Greek court blocks extradition of Turkey coup suspects

ATHENS // The Greek supreme court on Thursday rejected an extradition request for eight Turkish servicemen who fled their country by helicopter after a failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July.

Turkey said it would review its ties with Greece following the decision.

“We will carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of this decision – which we believe has been taken with a political motive – on our bilateral ties, cooperation in the fight against terrorism and on other bilateral and regional issues,” the foreign ministry said.

Presiding judge Giorgos Sakkas, said the servicemen – two commanders, four captains and two sergeants – were unlikely to have a fair trial if returned to Turkey.

The eight officers fought extradition in a six-month legal battle, arguing that they face mistreatment in prison if returned.

The officers embraced each other and snapped pictures with their Greek lawyers after the ruling was read out, the source said.

The court also ordered that the eight be released from police custody.

The Turkish foreign ministry has branded them “terrorists” and said they played an active role in the coup. It accused the Greek judiciary of encouraging “impunity” and said the decision “was opposed to international law norms and principles” as well as violating the rights of the victims of the coup.

Shortly after the court’s decision Turkey issued an arrest warrant for the eight men, Turkish media reported.

The men landed a helicopter in Greece a day after the botched putsch and asked for asylum, setting up a politically delicate situation in Greece.

Turkey and the case is awkward for Athens, which is working with Nato ally Ankara to stem the flow of migrants through its territory towards western Europe.

Both countries are also involved in delicate talks to reunify Cyprus.

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras told Mr Erdogan in September that democracy was “very important” to Greece and coup plotters were “not welcome”, according to state agency ANA.

But Greek justice minister Stavros Kontonis said earlier this month the government would respect any decision by the court.

When the officers first arrived in Greece, a local court handed them a two-month prison sentence for illegal entry into the country, suspended over a three-year period.

They were later relocated to Athens and have spent the past six months in police custody. One of the Turkish officers had said: “We saw indiscriminate arrests of military personnel and we were afraid.”

Another said: “I’m proud to be an army man. I would not have left Turkey had my life not been in danger.”

The officers deny having taken part in the putsch and claim their lives are in danger.

* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse