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Greek Court OKs Extradition of 3 Turkish Soldiers Accused in Coup Attempt


FILE - Members of Turkey's armed forces are escorted by police for their suspected involvement in an attempted coup, at the court house in Mugla, Turkey, July 17, 2016. A Greek court on Tuesday approved the extradition of three Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece following the failed putsch.
FILE - Members of Turkey's armed forces are escorted by police for their suspected involvement in an attempted coup, at the court house in Mugla, Turkey, July 17, 2016. A Greek court on Tuesday approved the extradition of three Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece following the failed putsch.

A Greek court on Tuesday ruled in favor of the extradition of three Turkish soldiers accused by Ankara of involvement in July's failed coup.

The three soldiers, part of a group of eight who fled to Greece, have denied Turkey's allegations.

The ruling comes just a day after the same court ruled against the extradition of three different officers accused of participating in the failed coup attempt. In the case of these three officers, the court ruled that the Turkish authorities failed to provide sufficient evidence to hand them over.

The fate of the two remaining officers will be decided on Thursday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has engaged in a crackdown on journalists, academics, military and civilian government employees, accusing them of participating in the July coup attempt.

More than 100,000 people have been removed from their jobs since government forces blocked the coup attempt. More than 35,000 others, including military officers and opposition politicians, have been arrested for suspected collusion with the coup plotters.

Erdogan has accused U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen of plotting the coup, and vowed to bring Gulen to justice.

Gulen, a former Erdogan ally in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied involvement in the coup attempt.

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