Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman says Athens ‘a refuge for coup plotters’

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has reacted angrily to news Monday that the last four Turkish servicemen of the eight who fled to Greece after the coup attempt in 2016 were released after the 18 months of maximum detention expired, with a spokesman accusing Athens of becoming “a refuge for coup plotters.”

“We have often stated that we condemn Greece’s refusal to extradite the eight traitors to Turkey who plotted [the failed coup on] July 15, 2016, as we had condemned the decision of Greek justice to free and grant asylum to the first of them,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement Tuesday, adding that “we had expressed the hope that the Greek justice would not repeat the same mistakes with such unilateral decisions.”

"Greece has clearly become a refuge for coup plotters. It boasts being the cradle of democracy but its stance is incompatible with international law and good neighbourly relations,” he said adding that Ankara will continue to pursue their extradition.