Greek Court Releases Turkish Coup Plotter

A Greek court on Thursday set free a Turkish coup plotter under judicial control.



The asylum request of Suleyman Ozkaynakci, the coup plotter, had been accepted in Dec. 2017 by Independent Asylum Commission, but later the Greek government raised objection over it.



He was released briefly after being granted asylum but arrested again after the government raised objection over the granting of asylum.



The Greek Council of State, the country's supreme administrative court, evaluated the government's objection on Thursday and ordered release of Ozkaymakci under strict control until the results of asylum applications of all eight Turkish coup plotters come out.



The Council of State is expected to make a final decision over the asylum requests of all the eight ex-Turkish soldiers on May 4.



According to Greek law, maximum detention period is 18 months, which will expire at the end of May for the all the coup plotters.



The eight former Turkish servicemen had fled to Greece a day after the defeated 2016 Turkish coup. They are accused by the Turkish authorities of being coup plotters and members of Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO).



FETO and its U.S.-based leader Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.



They are currently held in custody by Greek authorities. The case has been a bone of contention between the two countries.



The issue was also discussed during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's landmark visit to Greece in 2017. -