8 Turks Who Fled To Greece Are A Diplomatic 'hot Potato'

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Turkish military helicopter that landed in the Greek border city of Alexandroupolis just as an attempted coup was being quashed in Turkey has turned into one of the toughest diplomatic challenges to date for Greece's relatively inexperienced government. On board were eight Turkish military personnel — all unarmed helicopter crew members, it later turned out — who issued a mayday signal and were granted permission for an emergency landing. Turkey disputes their claim, and has demanded their return to stand trial for alleged participation in the violent attempt to overthrow the government. [...] the eight have applied for political asylum in Greece, saying they would be in danger if returned to Turkey amid President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's widespread purges of the military and civil service in response to the failed coup. The Turkish helicopter case will also test the country's relatively new coalition government, which came to power last year and consists of the left-wing Syriza party, which had never been in government before 2015, and the small nationalist Independent Greeks party, whose leader is the defense minister. If such talk gathers pace, or if death penalty legislation is introduced in Turkey's parliament, Greece or any other European Union member would struggle to extradite someone to a country where they might be executed.

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