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Greece rejects Turkey soldiers' extradition | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Greece's Supreme Court has ruled against extraditing eight Turkish soldiers whom the Turkish government accuses of being involved in last July's attempted coup. | Greece's Supreme Court has ruled against extraditing eight Turkish soldiers whom the Turkish government accuses of being involved in last July's attempted coup. |
The eight men fled in a helicopter to Greece after the coup attempt but say they were not involved. | The eight men fled in a helicopter to Greece after the coup attempt but say they were not involved. |
Presiding judge Giorgos Sakkas said the men were unlikely to receive a fair trial in Turkey. | |
The case has presented a diplomatic dilemma for Greece. | The case has presented a diplomatic dilemma for Greece. |
But the court's decision is final and cannot be appealed against. Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis said before the verdict that he would respect the decision and not intervene. | |
Turkey has demanded the men, who it calls traitors, be returned to stand trial. The soldiers - three majors, three captains and two sergeant majors - argue their lives would be in danger. | |
The issue has created new tensions between the Nato allies, who have a complex relationship and are currently working together to help negotiate a peace deal in divided Cyprus. | |
Turkey is expected to react strongly to the court's decision. | |
Turkey's post-coup purges convulse society | |
A tricky dilemma for Greece | |
The eight soldiers in Greece have said that their relatives in Turkey have lost jobs and had their passports confiscated. | |
In the wake of the coup attempt, tens of thousands of people from every level of Turkish society have been purged from their jobs, including military officers, government officials and schoolteachers. | In the wake of the coup attempt, tens of thousands of people from every level of Turkish society have been purged from their jobs, including military officers, government officials and schoolteachers. |
Critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan say he has used the failed uprising as a way of removing his opponents and tightening his hold on power. | Critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan say he has used the failed uprising as a way of removing his opponents and tightening his hold on power. |
The Turkish government says that it has taken legitimate action to root out "terrorist" groups that had infiltrated the state. | |
It blamed US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who leads a mass movement in Turkey, for the bloody coup attempt. He denies any involvement. | |
Soon after the soldiers arrived in Greece, they were given two-month suspended prison sentences for illegally entering the country. |