Two Turkish soldiers fled to Greece and sought asylum, amid increased tension between the two neighboring countries, after the Supreme Court rejected the extradition of 8 Turkish soldiers. However, this case seems quite different as the two are allegedly members of the special forces unit that attempted to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the coup of July 2016.
According to an exclusive report of daily Ethnos, the two soldiers are “trained assassins” who fled to Greece a couple of days ago.
The daily gives their names as Halit Cetin and Fatih Arik and notes:
According to reliable sources, the two are members of the “Death Squads” or “Death Platoon”, a special trained army unit that is dressed to kill.
The two illegally entered Greece through the Evros river on February 15th.
Two days later, they sought the police station of Orestiada and stated to police officers that they had illegally entered Greece and they should be arrested.
On February 20th they applied for asylum through a local lawyer.
According to some Greek media, together with the two soldiers arrested was also the smuggler, an Algerian national. KTG understands, that also this man sought his arrest b y the Greek authorities.
Commenting on the case, a government source told Ethnos daily that the Gulenists try to turn Greece into a filed where they can carry out their differences with Erdogan. The source stressed that Greek Government is closely monitor such actions and that it will not allow “internal strife in Turkey” to be transferred in Greece.
The Turkish government considers preacher Fetullah Gulen, a former mentor of Erdogan, as the mastermind behind the coup.
The two Turkish soldiers are in custody in Alexandroupolis, the city where the 8 Turkish soldiers landed with a stolen Black Hawk helicopter, a day after the coup.
On February 20th, Turkey opened the trial of 47 men, including generals and special forces officers, who are accused of trying to assassinate President Erdogan on the coup night, July 15th 2016. At the trial opening, the prosecutor called for life sentences for the 47 men. A crowd was chanting “Death! Death!” After the failed coup, the Turkish government considered to bring back the death sentence but has not done so, so far.
Worth noting: it is the first time a Greek official -and the media- describe as “Gulenists” Turkish citizens who fled to Greece after the coup. In this case the description as “two trained assassins” is even tougher.
More than 100 Turkish citizens, among them families with children, fled to Greece and sought asylum, following mass persecutions by the Erdogan regime.
PS I see a change in Greece’s policy on this issue and the two soldiers sent back to Turkey as soon as possible.
What puzzles me is :where were the two soldiers hiding between Jul 15/2016 and Feb 15/2017.
Perhaps the delay in seeking asylum is due to the fact they may end up in custody with the reprieved 8 and as known assassins themselves just think of the outcome