The Greek Appeals Justices’ Council on Monday declined the Turkish authorities’ request for the extradition of three Turkish army officers that fled to Greece after a failed coup attempting to topple Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15.
The three were among eight members of the Turkish military that commandeered a Turkish helicopter and sought refuge in Greece on the morning after the coup. A decision on whether to extradite the remaining five will be taken in the coming days.
The justices adopted the public prosecutor’s recommendation that they deny the extradition request on the grounds that the Turkish officers lives would be at risk if they are returned to Turkey. The prosecutor pointed out that the families of the eight Turkish officers had already been subjected to persecution and pressures in Turkey, while the European Parliament had stopped EU accession negotiations with Turkey due to the lack of democracy in that country.
During Monday’s hearing, the three officers repeated that their lives and safety will be at risk if they are sent back to Turkey and that they will be subjected to torture and non-legal mistreatment.
Following the council’s decision, there is no other legal recourse for Turkish authorities to press for extradition, unless they send a new request relating to other offences.
A hearing considering the Turkish authorities extradition request for another three Turkish officers will be held on Tuesday, followed by a hearing on Thursday for the final two.
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