Germany has granted asylum to many Turkish servicemen and members of their families with diplomatic passports, German media write, as Ankara accuses Berlin of protecting accomplices of the failed 2016 military coup.
A German Interior Ministry spokesman was not immediately available for comment, but according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the WDR and NDR television networks, German authorities said they had responded positively to the Turkish nationals' requests.
These are mainly Turkish soldiers who served in NATO and were stationed in Germany before being relieved of their duties, according to the same source. Diplomatic passports are generally issued to Turkish Armed Forces officers abroad and their family members.
Following the attempted military coup in July 2016, 414 Turkish military, diplomats, judges and senior civil servants applied for asylum in Germany, according to Interior Ministry figures broadcast by the three German media. However, this number also includes members of their families, according to a publication of the French News Agency, which broadcasts the corresponding Athenian.
A military coup attempt has prompted Islamist-conservative Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to launch large-scale crackdowns in areas ranging from education to the armed forces and the judiciary to the media.
In January, Turkey's defense minister pressed Berlin to reject asylum applications made by some XNUMX Turkish soldiers serving in NATO. Turkey has also demanded the extradition of alleged coup plotters who have taken refuge in Germany.
The issue has been poisoning relations between the two countries for months, with the Turkish government going so far as to accuse Germany of hosting "terrorists". For its part, Berlin criticized the extent of the purges that are still ongoing in Turkey.
Source: Newsbeast
