A court in Greece has granted asylum to a Turkish soldier who used a military helicopter to escape last year’s failed coup in Turkey.
The court found no evidence that the man – who was the helicopter’s co-pilot – played a part in the coup himself and said he would be persecuted for “political crimes” if he was returned to Turkey, according to GreekReporter.com.
He would now be released from custody, police said on Saturday.
But Greece’s government said it would appeal the decision in a higher court after Turkey said relations between the two countries would be affected.
More than 200 people died in Turkey in July 2016 after sections of the army attempted to overthrow the government in Ankara.
When the coup began to fail, eight soldiers in total fled to Greece using a Turkish military helicopter.
The Greek government’s move came hours after Turkey criticised a local panel’s decision to accept a helicopter pilot’s asylum request.
Source: Euronews
