Turkish Deputy Justice Minister Bilal Ucar, who is visiting Greece with a team from his ministry, will pay a courtesy call to Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis on Tuesday, the ministry announced.
The Turkish delegation will hold a meeting with a Greek justice ministry working group to discuss issues pertaining to the ministry, according to the announcement. Ucar and his team were welcomed earlier at the airport in Athens by the ministry’s general secretary of anti-crime policy, Eftihis Fytrakis.
Media reports state that the meetings concern the presence of eight Turkish former-servicemen currently in Greek custody and applying for asylum after fleeing Turkey in a helicopter on the night of July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
Greek media and Turkish sources confirmed that the delegation included Turkish Deputy Minister of Justice Bilal Utsar. Nevertheless, it remains unclear if Tuesday’s meetings will directly involve Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis.
Greece’s government came under fierce criticism earlier this month from a German media outlet for its handling of the case.
Spiegel Online carried an article accusing the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of being willing to believe the men will get a fair trial in Turkey, despite the stated concerns of Greece’s judiciary.
Greece’s Deputy Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas has already filed an appeal against one of the men who had been granted asylum. An Athens court on January 16 upheld a decision to return former Turkish military pilot Suleyman Ozkaynakci into police custody.
Turkey, on the contrary, demands their extradition, accusing them of being traitors who tried to violently overthrow Ankara’s government.
The issue is a long-running concern for Athens and has caused diplomatic friction with Turkey.
Greece’s Supreme Court has ruled that the eight ex-military personnel should not be extradited to Ankara, on the grounds they will not receive a fair trial and could possibly be tortured.
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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Mstyslav Chernov License: CC-BY-SA
Source: greekreporter.com
