About 40 Turkish NATO Soldiers Requested Asylum in Germany

About 40 mostly high-ranking Turkish soldiers who worked at NATO facilities in Germany but were suspended after the failed coup in Turkey in July have requested asylum in Germany, media reported on Saturday.


No comment was immediately available from the government or NATO officials.

The reports of the asylum applications filed by Turkish soldiers in Germany came as Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to travel to Turkey to meet President Tayyip Erdogan.

Ties between the two NATO partners have been strained over issues including alleged spying by Turkish clerics in Germany, German concerns about Turkey's crackdown on dissidents, and Ankara's accusation that Berlin is harboring militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and far-leftists of the DHKP-C.

The reports by news magazine Der Spiegel and broadcaster ARD  quoted officials with German federal migration office and the interior ministry as saying that the asylum applications would be handled as all others, Reuters reported.
 [tasnimnews.com]
28/1/17
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Related:

• Turkey submits new extradition request for Greece coup suspects
• Turkey issues arrest warrants for the 8 servicemen

• Greek court blocks extradition of Turkey coup suspects

• Tο Ποινικό Τμήμα του Αρείου Πάγου δεν εκδίδει στην Τουρκία τους 8