Former Turkish opposition MP requests asylum in Greece

ATHENS

A former Turkish lawmaker from the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) applied for asylum in Greece on Friday.

According to information Anadolu Agency obtained from the Greek Ministry of Migration Policy, former HDP Sirnak MP Leyla Birlik entered Greece illegally and she was brought to the Alexandroupolis police headquarters.

After her testimony was taken, she requested asylum, according to the ministry.

Birlik was previously remanded in custody for being a member of group.

She was released on Jan. 4, 2017 under judicial control, which she violated by going to Greece.

In May, a Greek court granted asylum and released from jail eight Turkish coup suspects, who had fled to Greece during the defeated attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.

Following their release, the former soldiers were placed in a special area protected by 80 police personnel.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organization and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, in Turkey, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Greek courts also rejected Turkey's extradition request for six far-left DHKP-C terrorists in the first half of 2018.

The DHKP-C is responsible for a number of terror attacks in Turkey, including a 2013 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara which martyred a Turkish security guard.

The group is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the European Union.

Greek government officials, when asked about the extradition of the ex-soldiers have repeatedly referred to judicial independence and their inability to interfere in the process.

Reporting by Furkan Naci Top; Writing by Sena Guler