Turkey reacts strongly to five defectors’ asylum in Norway

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Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister rages against Norway after four Turkish officers and a military attaché has been granted asylum in Norway in the aftermath of the attempted coup d’état last summer.

– It is not possible to accept this. This is wrong, says Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus to the news agency Anadolu, according to ABC News.

Kurtulmus points out that the five belong to FETÖ; an organization that Turkish authorities believe was behind the attempted coup last summer.

– An immediate expulsion of FETÖ bandits who have sought asylum in European countries, is necessary to maintain a friendly relationship between Turkey and these countries, Kurtulmus said.

The officers’ lawyer, Kjell M. Brygfjeld, has confirmed to Klassekampen that the five have been granted asylum.

All five were stationed in Norway when a part of the Turkish military tried to seize power in Turkey on July 15th of last year. All claim that they had nothing to do with the putsch, according to the newspaper.

In January they said to VG that they had lost their jobs and been told to return to their home country. Instead they therefore chose to stay, and to seek asylum.

All five are now living at a secret addresses in Norway. According to Klassekampen the family members have also been granted asylum in Norway.

In January President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan informed that around 43,000 people had been arrested during the six months that had passed since the attempted coup.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today