Euro Parliamentarians call Turkey to release jailed Greek soldiers

A group of Greek Members of European Parliament have called on the Turkish government to immediately release the two Greek soldiers arrested and jailed by Turkish authorities after accidently straying into the country’s territory during a border control two weeks ago.

In a joint statement, the 15 Greek MEPs said the whole incident could have ended with a simple warning to the soldiers, as has been the case in similar incidents in the past. Instead, they continue, Turkey chose to arrest them and keep them in a high security prison, without clarifying exactly what the charges are.

"This behaviour by the Turkish authorities does not only concern Greece, but also the European Union as a whole, of which Greece is a member state. The continued detention of the two Greeks is incompatible with the principles of good neighbourly relations that a candidate country for accession to the EU (ie Turkey) should have towards the Union and its member states. We therefore call on the Turkish government to immediately release the two Greek soldiers," the statement said.

The MEPs who signed the statement are:

Androulakis Nikos, S&D

Vozemberg Eliza, EPP

Grammatikakis Giorgos, S&D

Zagorakis Theodoros, EPP

Kaili Eva, S&D

Kefalogiannis Manolis, EPP

Kouloglou Stelios, GUE/NGL

Kuvena Kostadinka, GUE/NGL

Kyrkos Miltiadis, S&D

Kyrtsos Georgos, EPP

Papadimoulis Dimitris, GUE/NGL