Sabah: Ankara knows where eight Turkish officers are being hidden

The Turkish daily Sabah reported that Turkish state services are aware of the secret place where eight Turkish military officers seeking asylum in Greece have been hidden.

The Greek Supreme Court has definitively rejected the officers’ extradition because they cannot be guaranteed a fair trial in Turkey. Two of them have been granted asylum, and that is a strong precedent for the other six.

In a story entitled “Greece and US shielding the traitors”, Sabah reported that over 200 people are now guarding the Turkish officers, and that the cost of that security is one million euros monthly.

The report says that aside from Greece’s EYP intelligence agents, American agents are also involved in the operation.

It is unclear whence Turkish authorities collected that information, including the location (which was not named), the participation of American agents, and the cost of the operation.

The eight officers are being guarded in a secret location for fear that they may be kidnapped or killed by Turkish agents.

Turkey has repeatedly vowed that it will not abandon efforts to take the eight back.

In an interview with Ta Nea, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had said that bilateral relations are not the best, and that Greece has become a “safe haven” for Turkish criminals, such as the eight military officers.

Noting his disappointment with the rulings of the Greek judiciary, Cavusoglu said, “We have great resolve in pursuing our efforts to ensure that the fugitives who participated in the [failed] coup [of July, 2016, against Erdogan] will be extradited and tried in Turkey.

The report comes straight on the heels of the return to Turkey of two soldiers that strayed into Greek territory in the Evros border region. That issue was resolved between the two sides within hours.