Father of released soldier posts message of thanks

The father of Dimitris Kouklatzis, one of the two Greek soldiers that were released from a Turkish prison in Edirne last Tuesday, thanked God and the country’s political, military and religious authorities in a long Facebook post on Saturday.

Kouklatzis and Angelos Mitretodis were arrested on March 1 after crossing the Turkish border during a routine patrol.

In his post, Nikos Kouklatzis extended his gratitude to a long list of people, including staff at the Greek Consulate in Edirne and the Greek Embassy in Ankara, as well as Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios.

He also expressed his family’s appreciation to the warden and staff at Edirne Prison.

“We feel that it would be unfair not to recognize and report the good behavior of the prison warden and staff… to our children during their imprisonment, but also to us during our visits.”