Council of Europe MPs call for immediate release of two Greek soldiers held in Turkey
The Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly (PACE) has called for the immediate release of two Greek soldiers who have been in Turkish prison since early March when they accidentally crossed the Greek-Turkish land border in bad weather.
During the assembly's spring summit, a statement was issued in Strasbourg calling for the two soldiers to be freed and for respect for human rights and rule of law.
The initiative was signed by a 13-strong Greek delegation and a large number of MPs from member states of the European Council across the political spectrum.
The head of the Greek delegation, leftist SYRIZA MP Anetta Kavadia, said the continued detention of the two soldiers violated human rights and rule of law and should be a treated as "a European and international issue."
