Greece suspends asylum status for Turkish pilot accused of coup involvement - Reports

The pilot - one of the eight Turkish soldiers, who fled the country after the coup attempt, was given asylum status on December 29
FILE PHOTO: The eight Turkish soldiers, who fled to Greece in a helicopter and requested political asylum after a failed military coup against the government, are escorted by police officers as they arrive at the Supreme Court in Athens, Greece.
REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
Sputnik
Monday, 08 January 2018 17:31

A judge of the Athens Administrative Court of Appeals on Monday accepted the Greek government's request to temporarily suspend the asylum status granted to a Turkish pilot, who had fled to Greece in the wake of the failed July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, Greek media reported.

The pilot - one of the eight Turkish soldiers, who fled the country after the coup attempt, was given asylum status on December 29.

According to the Amna news agency, the court accepted the government's appeal for the reasons of public interest and also in the interest of the pilot.

The government's request to annul the asylum status will be discussed on February 15, the agency reported.

In May, a court in Athens ruled against the Turkish authorities' request to return two out of eight of their citizens who fled to Greece in July 2016. The Greek court had earlier turned down Turkey's attempt to return the other six.

A coup attempt in Turkey resulted in the deaths of at least 240 people and left up to 2,000 injured. Ankara suspects Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen and his supporters of having orchestrated the unrest. Gulen, who is currently in the United States, has refuted the allegations.