Turkish military officers who fled to Greece following the failed July coup in their country have appealed against the rejection of their asylum claims, their lawyer said Tuesday.
Stravroula Tomara told AFP she had filed appeals for six of the eight officers in question: four whose initial asylum requests had been rejected, and two whose cases had been suspended.
Tomara added that the appeal for a seventh officer had already been filed and a hearing scheduled for November 2.
An eighth officer is still waiting for a decision on his initial asylum claim, she said.
"What is absurd is that the asylum service's decisions refer to Turkey's extradition request, when this does not actually exist legally," she said.
Tomara also took issue with the continued detention of her eight clients.
The two Turkish commanders, four captains and two sergeants requested asylum in Greece after landing a military helicopter in the northern city of Alexandroupoli shortly after the attempted government takeover in mid-July.
Ankara has asked Athens to extradite them all to face trial in Turkey for their alleged role in the coup attempt and for their alleged attempted assassination of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
But Greek extradition authorities in August rejected the request saying insufficient evidence had been presented, according to a legal source.
Turkey's failure so far to provide additional information has kept the asylum process on hold, the source added.
When their initial asylum requests were rejected, the eight officers, who say they fled to Greece to save their lives, claimed to be the victims of "bilateral politics".
They say they would not receive a fair trial in Turkey, where the authorities have detained thousands of people over the coup, including top generals.
Their case is awkward for Greece, which is working with Turkey to stem the flow of migrants to its shores.
