Some 136 Turkish citizens with diplomatic status sought asylum in Germany: Ministry

BERLIN

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More than 130 Turkish diplomatic passport holders, soldiers and their family members have sought refuge in Germany since the July 15, 2016 failed coup attempt, according to German government data in documents seen by Agence France-Presse on Feb. 24.“The government is aware of 136 asylum applications filed by diplomatic passport holders from Turkey. They also include family members,” said the Turkish Interior Ministry in a written reply to a query from a lawmaker.The ministry said, however, that it did not have data on how many among the applicants were diplomatic passport holders and how many were soldiers stationed at NATO bases.Meanwhile, two Turkish soldiers who were allegedly part of a group that tried to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the coup attempt, have been detained in Greece after requesting asylum, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.According to officials familiar with the matter, the two men – both of whom served in the Turkish special forces – crossed into Greece on Feb. 15.Two days later, they turned themselves in to Greek authorities and requested asylum after admitting to illegally entering the country.Both soldiers are currently being held in custody in Alexandroupoli in northern Greece. They allegedly fled arrest in Turkey due to information tying them to Erdoğan’s attempted assassination on the night of the failed coup.The coup attempt left at least 248 people killed and more than 2,100 injured.Recently, the Greek Supreme Court decided against the extradition of another eight Turkish former soldiers linked to the coup attempt, who fled to Greece a few hours after it failed.Turkey continues to demand the extradition of the men, promising to provide fair trials, but the court ruled against their deportation to Turkey in the face of allegations of abuse against detainees accused of involvement in the coup.