[Ynet] A Greek court has agreed to the extradition of three of Turkish servicemen from a group of eight who fled to Greece after a failed July 15 military coup, a day after rejecting ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's extradition request for three others.
All eight helicopter crewmen deny participating in the coup and a plot to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
. They fled to Greece by helicopter and maintain they will not have a fair trial in Turkey.
The Athens council of appeals judges approved Turkey's extradition request for three of the group Tuesday on charges of being involved in the coup, attempting to impede a parliamentary session and the seizure of a helicopter. It rejected the charge of involvement in an liquidation attempt against Erdogan.
The three are expected to appeal.
| An Nahar adds: |
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
may still appeal the case, and any final decision to extradite rests with the Greek minister of justice.
The two Turkish commanders, four captains and two sergeants requested asylum in Greece after landing a military helicopter in the northern city of Alexandroupoli shortly after the attempted government takeover in mid-July.
The officers are currently also appealing against a Greek refusal to grant them asylum in September.
Ankara has asked Athens to extradite them all to face trial in Turkey for their alleged role in the failed coup, including an alleged attempt on Erdogan's life.
NATO officers from Turkey have turned into stateless asylum-seekers
[DeutscheWelle] The Erdogan regime is targeting its own NATO personnel, accusing high-ranking Turkish officers of being coup plotters, ordering them to return home.
Turkey post-coup purge depleting NATO staff, commander complains
[IsraelTimes] NATO’s top military officer says about 150 Turkish officers have been recalled or retired from the alliance’s high command since a failed coup attempt in Turkey, placing a significant burden on his staff.
US Army General Curtis Scaparrotti says losing so many seasoned officers had placed “an extra load on our remaining people” and that “it obviously has an impact on their military.”
“I had talented, capable people here, and I’m taking a degradation on my staff,” he says.
The officers who were recalled or retired from NATO make up about half of Turkey’s roughly 300-strong officer contingent at the alliance’s high command in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands.
Scaparrotti says that about 75 of them have been replaced so far.
Authorities have arrested close to 38,000 people and purged more than 100,000 others from government jobs, including the military.