The Greek asylum committee has rejected the applications of eight Turkish military officers who fled Turkey after the failed military coup and fearing for their lives landed illegally in Greece.
As a result the men were arrested anew on Thursday, as part of the legal procedure to decide and will remain detained until their trial where it will be decided whether to extradite them to Turkey.
Turkish authorities say the eight men are wanted for attempted abolition of the Constitution and the parliament, attempted murder against the president of the Turkish Republic and the seizure of a helicopter.
The Greek prosecutor has requested additional information from Turkish authorities concerning the extradition request.
Lawyer for the eight defendants, Christos Mylonopoulos said his clients will not face a fair trial if they are returned to Turkey and cited recent announcements to reinstate the death penalty.
“A procedure is starting although we know it is impossible to have a fair trial in Turkey and Turks reserve for them an inhuman and degrading treatment, while it has been announced from official lips that they will reinstate the death penalty,” he said.
