A journalist for the pro-Erdoğan Akit daily called on the government to send thousands of refugees to the Greek border if Greece refuses to extradite eight Turkish military officers who fled to the neighboring country by helicopter after a failed coup attempt on July 15.
“Send 1,500-2,000 by a ship… Send bus convoys… Gather 15,000 refugees at the border gate. If they try to keep them at the border… Let them cross the border and set foot in Greek territory… Then they can change their laws… And either they stop playing the role of a country respecting human rights… or… they come like a lamb and say ‘We will do what you want’,” wrote Ali Karahasanoğlu in a column published in the Akit daily on Tuesday.
A Greek court has decided to extradite three soldiers who were allegedly involved in the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15.
Media reports said a decision was made on Tuesday for three of eight soldiers who are seeking asylum in Greece in favor of their extradition. The pilots have appealed the ruling at the country’s top court.
Tuesday’s decision followed the opposite decision by a Greek court on Monday, which denied Turkey’s request for the extradition of three soldiers who allegedly took part in the coup attempt.
The soldiers reportedly said they would be subject to the death penalty in Turkey if they were extradited since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been planning to reinstate capital punishment. The soldiers deny any part in the putsch as alleged by Turkey.