Greek Court Refuses to Extradite 3 Turkish Soldiers Accused of Coup Involvement

A Greek court decided on Tuesday not to extradite three out of eight Turkish soldiers, who fled to Greece after last year's attempted coup in Turkey, according to media reports.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The decision not to extradite Abdullah Yetik, Feridun Coban and Suleyman Ozkaynak was made by the appeal court in Athens, the Daily Sabah media outlet reported.

Turkey brought new charges against eight servicemen after the Greek Supreme Court had ruled in January against their extradition.

Eight Turkish soldiers fled to Greece on board a helicopter on July 16, 2016, after a thwarted coup in Turkey and asked for political asylum, saying that a fair trial could not be expected in their homeland.

Over 200 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured as a result of the attempted coup. Ankara accused US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen of masterminding the coup and launched a crackdown on his alleged supporters.

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