Soldiers Who Fled to Greece ‘Heard About Coup on the News’

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The eight soldiers who fled to Greece seeking asylum talked to the English daily newspaper The Times and stated that they had heard about the coup attempt on July 15 as they went online on an iPad.

According to BBC Türkçe, which covered The Times story, the soldiers said that they had known nothing about the coup attempt during the mission on which they had been sent at the time.  

One soldier, declining to his name for fear of retaliation against his family in Turkey, said “We are not criminals. We shouldn’t be treated as such”. 

“We will be tortured if we are deported to Turkey”

The soldiers added that they were aware of what awaited them and noted “We will be tortured if we are deported to Turkey”.

Stating that they were “secular Kemalists who are against any Islamic control mechanism in the army,” the soldiers reportedly said that they were “afraid of becoming prominent scapegoats”.

The Times reported that the trial regarding the soldiers’ asylum application was expected to be held next week. (AS/DG)