Greece to Return Helicopter With Runaway Turkish Coup Supporters to Ankara

The Greek authorities will return the helicopter used by suspected Turkish coup supporters to flee to Greece but will apply general procedure to the detained passengers who intend to ask for asylum in the country, Greek government's spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili said on Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) —Earlier in the day, a Turkish helicopter with seven alleged coup supporters on board landed in the Greek city of Alexandroupolis.

"The Greek government has contacted the Turkish authorities asking to return the military helicopter as soon as possible. As for the eight detainees, procedures envisaged by international law will be applied," Gerovasili said.

"However we will seriously consider the fact that the detainees are accused of violating constitutional legitimacy and of attempting to undermine democracy in their country," she added.

On Friday, a military coup attempt was carried out in Turkey. According to the Turkish General Staff, 104 coup supporters were killed, while 47 civilians, 41 police officers, 2 soldiers died in clashes. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Edrogan accused Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, an outspoken critic of the government in self-imposed exile in the United States, of organizing the unrest.