26 January 2017•Update: 04 April 2017
By Erkan Avci
ANKARA
The Turkish Foreign Ministry protested Thursday a Greek court's decision not to "extradite the eight fugitive Turkish soldiers, which the Turkish government accuses of having links to the July 2016 foiled coup attempt".
"We are protesting this decision, which prevents these individuals […] from appearing before an independent Turkish court," the statement read.
These individuals, it added, "played an active role in the [July 15] coup attempt targeting the democratic order in Turkey, martyring our 248 citizens and security forces, injuring 2,193 citizens and making an attempt on our president's [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] life.
"The latest decision from Greek authorities, which have so far prevented the members of terrorist organizations targeting Turkey, especially the DHKP/C [an armed far-left group] and the PKK, from appearing before a court, has once again made it clear that Greece, as an ally and neighboring country, avoids to fulfill the basic requirements of the fight against terror and crimes," it added.
The statement also highlighted that the Greek court's decision contradicts international legal norms and principles.
"As a country that has suffered from coups in the past, Greece has unfortunately become a country protecting coup plotters," read the statement.
The statement added that all the remedies against the Greek court's decision would be used and attempts for extradition and prosecution would continue.
"We will have a comprehensive assessment of the effects of this court ruling, which we believe was taken with political motives, on the bilateral relationship, our cooperation on counter-terrorism and [...] on regional issues," the statement added.
On Thursday, the Greek Supreme Court announced that Greece would not extradite any of the eight fugitive Turkish soldiers.
Later on Thursday, a court in Istanbul issued warrants in absentia for the arrest of the eight fugitive Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece after the July 15 defeated coup, according to a judicial source.
The eight soldiers -- Maj. Ahmet Guzel, Maj. Gencay Boyuk, Capt. Feridun Coban, Sgt. Mesut Firat, Capt. Abdullah Yetik, Capt. Ugur Ucan, Capt. Suleyman Ozkaynakci and Sgt. Bilal Kurugul -- fled Turkey a few hours after the defeated coup attempt of July 2016 which left at least 248 people martyred and more than 2,000 injured.
They arrived in Greece on a stolen Black Hawk helicopter and immediately requested asylum.
Turkey has repeatedly demanded the extradition of all eight men.
