Greek media say Turkish boat group sought asylum

By Idyli Tsakiri

ATHENS

Greek media reported on Wednesday 10 Turkish citizens were detained recently on Rhodes island requesting political asylum.

The ten individuals -- two men, two women and six children -- were held on Tuesday, Greek state news agency AMNA reported.

According to reports, the Turks entered Greece illegally on a private boat and told the Greek authorities they were being persecuted by the Turkish government due to their political beliefs.

Despite being contacted by Anadolu Agency, neither Greek police nor the country’s Interior Ministry was able to comment on the case.

Greek newspaper Eleftheros Typos reported the Turkish citizens wanted to travel onwards to the U.S., and claimed two of them have already obtained American visas. All of the boat’s passengers had Turkish passports.

In August, three more Turkish citizens fled to Rhodes. Their asylum requests are ongoing, with scheduled depositions to end in early October.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, three out of eight alleged coup plotters who fled Turkey a few hours after the July 15 coup attempt were denied asylum in Greece. The remainder await a decision upon their request next week.

The eight pro-coup members of the Turkish military are currently being held in Alexandroupolis, northern Greece, after asking for asylum in August.