Greece Rejects Asylum Requests by Three Turkish Officers

Trio were part of group of eight soldiers who fled after failed coup attempt in Turkey

The Wall Street Journal

By STELIOS BOURAS and  NEKTARIA STAMOULI

Sept. 21, 2016 1:08 p.m. ET

ATHENS—Three of the eight Turkish army officers who fled to Greece after July’s failed coup attempt in Turkey have had their asylum requests rejected, a Greek government official said Wednesday.

The requests of two of the officers were rejected owing to a lack of cooperation with authorities, a second Greek government official said. All three have the right to appeal.



The asylum requests for the remaining five officers are still being assessed and decisions could take another month, the same official added.

The eight officers, who hold ranks up to that of major, have said in written statements that they followed orders during the night of the attempted coup but didn’t know a plot to overthrow the government was afoot. Greece’s asylum service was skeptical about that claim in the first three cases, the second Greek official said

The eight officers also said they fear for their lives if they are returned to Turkey.

The Turkish government has requested the rapid extradition of the men, whom it has described as traitors, to face charges of trying to overthrow the democratic constitution.

Also on Wednesday, 10 other Turkish nationals, including six children, landed by boat on the Greek island of Rhodes, near Turkey’s coast, and sought asylum, Greek authorities said.

Since the failed coup attempt, a number of Turkish citizens, including university professors and businessmen, have entered Greece requesting asylum.

The Greek government is worried that the eight officers’ cases, as well as other Turkish asylum claims since the coup effort, could weigh on Greece’s prickly relations with its bigger neighbor. The countries, both North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, have longstanding tensions over territorial disputes. But Greek officials say they have to let their judicial system weigh the asylum claims.

Wednesday’s decision is a signal that Greek authorities may also treat the other five officers’ claims for asylum skeptically, legal analysts say. Greek officials point out that individual cases’ merits may vary, however. The appeals process can be lengthy and it might be months, or even years, before any of the men are deported to Turkey, if ever.

“There are many different ways to hold up procedures. Under one scenario, their possible deportation could take place in four years’ time,” said John Alavanos, a lawyer specializing in immigration law.

The Greek government is eager to avoid a clash with Turkish President  Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Greek Prime Alexis Tsipras was due to meet with Mr. Erdogan on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The officers whose claims the Greek asylum service has rejected can seek to overturn that decision at Greece’s asylum appeals board. They can then continue to fight their removal in higher Greek and European courts, according to Greek lawyers assigned to represent them.

Write to Stelios Bouras at stelios.bouras@wsj.com and Nektaria Stamouli at nektaria.stamouli@wsj.com