Greece frees 8 Turkish servicemen seeking asylum after coup

ATHENS, Greece – A lawyer representing eight Turkish servicemen who fled to Greece seeking asylum after the 2016 failed coup in Turkey says all his clients have been freed pending a ruling on their applications.

Omiros Zelios said Monday that the last of his clients was released from police custody last week. All are living in a secret location under strong police protection.

Greek courts have rejected repeated Turkish demands for their extradition, to face charges of alleged participation in the coup, arguing that they would not get a fair trial in Turkey.

This has soured relations between the neighbouring countries, which are historic regional rivals.

So far, one of the Turks has been irrevocably granted asylum — despite efforts by Greece’s government to block the decision. The others’ cases are pending.