Greece appeals verdict to not extradite Turkish troops

By Idyli Tsakiri

ATHENS, Greece

A Greek public prosecutor on Friday appealed Thursday’s court decision to not extradite two Turkish soldiers accused of being part of the July 15 defeated coup in Turkey.

According to Christos Mylonopoulos, a lawyer defending the two soldiers, Chief Appeals Prosecutor Antonis Liogas filed an appeal Friday against the court decision to not extradite the two men.

The lawyer said Liogas’ appeal had “no solid ground”, adding he expects the law to be implemented.

A few hours after the July 16 defeated in Turkey, eight Turkish soldiers arrived in Greece aboard a hijacked Blackhawk helicopter and requested asylum in the country, stating their lives would be in danger in their home country.

Earlier, a Greek court had decided to extradite all of the eight alleged coup plotters. However, following appeals made by the soldiers’ defense, the court decided to allow five of the soldiers to stay in Greece, while the remaining three lost their appeals and told they would be extradited.

On Friday, the prosecutor appealed the decision to not extradite two out of the five soldiers told earlier they could stay in Greece

All the appeals court decisions have been appealed, again, and the Supreme Court is expected to rule on them next week, according to Mylonopoulos.

Turkey has repeatedly requested the extradition of the eight soldiers, in the past months, promising to provide them with fair trials in their own country.