A court in Turkey’s northwestern Edirne province on Tuesday ruled to keep in prison two Greek soldiers who were detained by Turkish troops patrolling the border late on March 1, the T24 news website reported.
According to the report the 2nd Penal Court of Peace ruled that Lt. Aggelos Mitredotis and noncommissioned officer Dimitros Kouklatzis stay in prison on the grounds that there is strong evidence proving the crime they are alleged to have committed, that they present a flight risk, that the alleged crime was perpetrated by members of the Greek military and that a prison sentence is being sought by the prosecutor.
Turkish prosecutors demanded their arrest on charges of military espionage and trespassing in a prohibited military zone.
The Greek army earlier had issued a statement that the pair was deployed on the border and lost their way due to inclement weather and crossed into Turkey by mistake.
The decision came days after a Greek appeals court on March 16 rejected a Turkish demand for the handover of eight Turkish soldiers accused by Ankara of having played a direct role in a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
According to the report, the court said it had concerns the eight would not face a fair trial in Turkey, returning Ankara’s third demand for extradition.