Greek Court Rules to Extradite 3 Out of 8 Turkish Officers Accused of Coup Links

A court in Greece decided on Tuesday to extradite three out of eight Turkish servicemen, who fled from Turkey by helicopter the day after the coup attempt, Hurriyet newspaper reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The decision on two other servicemen will be made on December 8.

On Monday, the Court of Appeal in Athens decided not to extradite to Ankara three other Turkish servicemen with judges and a prosecutor having decided that the lives of the Turkish officers would be under threat in case of extradition.

All eight Turkish servicemen have denied their involvement in the coup attempt, but said they face prosecution in Turkey due to the government's post-coup crackdown. Ankara has repeatedly demanded their extradition.

On July 15, a military coup attempt took place in Turkey. Ankara accused Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who has been living in the US state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his followers of playing a key role in the coup. Since July, hundreds of military personnel, activists and journalists have been arrested in Turkey on suspicion of links with Gulen.