Greek authorities on Wednesday postponed hearings for eight Turkish military officers – three majors, three captains and two sergeant majors – who sought asylum in Greece, when they crossed the border in a helicopter and landed in the northeastern Greek city of Alexandroupolis on July 16. Their case has underscored lingering tensions between the two NATO allies.
The new interview dates were set for 19, 23, 24 and 25 August.
The interviews are part of the process of evaluating asylum applications made by the eight last week. Under the law, applicants have seven days after their application is submitted in which to prepare for the interview. Once the interviews are complete, an asylum service employee will announce the primary-level decision. If asylum is refused, the applicants can appeal and their application is then reviewed again in a secondary process.
All men deny being involved in the coup and claim they fear for their lives. According to their lawyers, they were obeying orders by their superiors to transport the wounded from the streets to ambulances. They said they fled to Turkey when their Black Hawk helicopter came under fire by police on the ground.
Turkey has sought their deportation, calling them “traitors” and “terrorist elements”. Athens has said it will deal with any asylum request swiftly.
“They are afraid to go to Turkey” one of the lawyers, Vasiliki Ilia Marinaki told Reuters Television. “They told me that they will definitely be tortured. They told me exactly 'we are going to beg for death, we are going to be dead anyway'.”
Last week, the men were handed a two-month suspended jail sentence on charges of entering Greece illegally. Nonetheless, they remain in “administrative” custody.
Those who appeared at asylum offices on Wednesday were accompanied by police, and held t-shirts over their heads to conceal their faces.
Since the coup attempt Turkey has launched a purge of the armed forces and judiciary, rounding up thousands of people.