Turkish foreign ministry accuses Greece of protecting coup plotters

Turkey’s foreign ministry on Thursday accused Greece of protecting coup plotters following an irrevocable decision by the Council of State to grant asylum to one of the eight Turkish soldiers who sought refuge in the country after the 2016 failed coup in Turkey.

The court on Wednesday rejected an effort by the Greek government to block an earlier decision by an asylum committee to grant asylum status to Suleyman Ozkaynakci. 

The ruling on Ozkaynakci is expected to influence the course of the other seven soldiers' applications.

“It has been thereby reaffirmed by the international community that Greece is a country, which protects and shelters the putschists. We strongly condemn this decision that deeply offends the conscience of the Turkish nation,” the ministry said in a statement.

“We hope that the Greek judiciary will refrain from repeating the same mistakes by taking similar biased decisions in the future,” it added.

Ankara has repeatedly called for the extradition of “Turkey’s eight,” claiming they were involved in the foiled attempt to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Greece's Supreme Court has already ruled against their extradition to Turkey, saying they will not have a fair trial.