Lawyer: 8 Turkish military personnel being sent to Athens

If the affair “is resolved swiftly and they are returned as swiftly as possible, that could turn into something very positive for our bilateral relations”, Turkish ambassador Kerim Uras told reporters in Athens.

The soldiers who had fled to Greece aboard a helicopter after a failed coup attempt, were charged with illegally entering the country. The pilot was acquitted of a charge of violating flight regulations.

The officers, sought by Turkey to face a military trial at home, have requested asylum in Greece and will remain in police custody until their cases on that issue are heard early in August.

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Katerina Dapoudani, one of the three Greek attorneys representing them, issued a statement shortly after the officers were found guilty of illegal entry and sentenced to two months in prison by the local court at the northern city of Alexandroupolis.

The sentences were suspended for a three-year period as the court took into account that the men felt threatened.

The men, labelled “terrorists” by Ankara, have blocked their deportation by applying for asylum.

On July 15 a group of rebels initiated a military coup attempt in Turkey.

Turkey’s parliament has endorsed sweeping new powers for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that would allow him to expand a crackdown in the wake of last week’s failed coup. The officers will appear before immigration authorities on July 27 for personal interviews, in order for their applications to be examined. One of their lawyers has said they deny involvement in Friday’s attempted coup in Turkey, saying the helicopter had been used to transport wounded and had come under fire from police, at which point they fled fearing for their lives.

We had no involvement in the coup attempt.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and cabinet ministers have stressed numerous times that Greece supports democracy and constitutional order in Turkey and will fully observe global law on asylum and extradition regarding the case. Their unit told them not to return to base because the situation was too risky.

“We thought of going to Bulgaria, Romania or Greece – finally we chose Greece”, said the officer who opened Thursday’s trial.

A Greek policeman also testifying in the trial said all eight were unarmed and cooperative after landing, offered no resistance to arrest, surrendered immediately and asked for political asylum.