Greece grants asylum to FETÖ putschist

Greece on Tuesday granted asylum to one of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) putschists who fled Turkey following the July 15 coup attempt of 2016.

He is one of the eight former Turkish servicemen who fled to Greece in a stolen helicopter a day after the defeated 2016 Turkish coup.

The Greek Council of State, the highest administrative court in Greece, recently ordered the release of ex-Turkish soldier Süleyman Özkaynakçı under judicial control.

Özkaynakçı's asylum request had been accepted in December 2017 by an independent asylum commission, but later the Greek government raised an objection to it.

"Since the defeated coup, Greece has been a safe haven for criminals from our country,” Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul wrote in a letter to his Greek counterpart Stavros Kontonis in April.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based ringleader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.