by Aggelos Skordas
A Turkish court in the northwestern city of Edirne on Tuesday rejected the fourth consecutive release request filed by the two Greek Army officers who have been imprisoned in a maximum security prison since March 1, when they accidentally strayed into Turkey during a routine border patrol. The two Greek servicemen, a second lieutenant and a sergeant, have been in custody for 111 days with no charges being pressed against them yet, while they await trial.
The two were led handcuffed to the court in Edirne where their defendants saw the fourth appeal launched for their release rejected by the Turkish court.
According to Skai TV, the new appeal came after the recent assignment of the two soldiers to Greece’s delegation to Ankara by the Greek military authorities, in an effort to invalidate the argument used by Turkish judges in the three previous hearings, who said that they do not have a permanent residence in the neighbouring country and thus they might attempt to flee in case they are granted release before they are charged and a trial is set.
The Greek servicemen were patrolling by the only land borderline between the two countries in a heavily forested region, near Kastanies, on Thursday March 1 when they crossed the borders with Turkey due to bad weather conditions. After encountering a Turkish patrol unit, the officers were initially taken to the provincial gendarmerie command in Edirne and remain in custody since.
The case has increased tension between Athens and Ankara, as the later attempts to link the two Greek officers’ release with that of the eight Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece seeking asylum following the July 2016 failed coup attempt in Turkey. Greek courts have rejected their extradition on the grounds that they would not receive a fair trial in their homeland.
