Turkish commandos ask for asylum

Two officers believed to have been involved in a plot to kill Erdogan during July coup

Two Turkish servicemen, believed to have involved in the plot to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the July coup attempt in the neighboring country, are being held in custody in Alexandroupoli, it was revealed yesterday.

The two men, former members of Turkey’s special forces, entered Greece illegally through the Evros border crossing a few days ago and turned themselves in to police au- thorities in Orestiada.

Through a local lawyer, the two commandos applied for political asylum on February 20.They had eluded arrest for months until they entered Greece.

The pair are believed to have told Greek investigators that they were indeed involved in a plot to assassinate Erdogan.

So far, there has been no Turkish request for their extradition.

Meanwhile, Ankara has submitted a fresh extradition request for the eight Turkish servicemen who Ankara have accused of being involved in the coup attempt. The initial request for their extradition was rejected in January by Greece’s Supreme Court, which said that regardless of whether they were guilty or not, the servicemen would not receive a fair trial in Turkey.

In the new request, Ankara pro- vided reassurances that they would receive a fair trial. It also includes what Turkish authorities describe as new incriminating evidence. The request sent to the Greek Foreign Ministry further includes two additional charges, on top of the four included in the first extradition request.

The Foreign Ministry has passed on the request to the Justice Ministry.