Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) this week reported from Athens that roughly 2,000 Turkish citizens have fled to Greece to avoid political persecution in the neighboring country
The German newspaper also claimed that the "exiles", as it states, fear the "long hand of President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan," especially in the wake of the leftist-rightist Greek government's recent attempt to overturn an independent judicial committee's decision granting asylum to the first of eight Turkish servicemen that escaped from Turkey in the wake of a coup attempt in July 2016.
"The case (the eight Turkish military personnel that have requested asylum) places (Greek) Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in a difficult position ... since he has promised President Erdogan that he (Tsipras) will send back the Turkish servicemen to Turkey ... However, the (Greek) Supreme Court rejected an extradition request by Turkish justice for the officers, stating that they will not receive a fair trial in Turkey..." WAZ concludes.
