Turkish NATO officials seek asylum

A number of Turkish military officers posted to NATO in Europe have requested asylum since the abortive coup in Turkey in July, alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said today.

While condemning the 15 July coup and stressing that Turkey remains a crucial NATO ally, Stoltenberg advised that Ankara must respect the rule of law even it seeks to remove suspected coup plotters from its armed forces.

Speaking at a conference Stoltenberg said: “Some Turkish officers working in NATO command structures, some of them have requested asylum in the countries where they are working.”

“As always, this is an issue that is going to be assessed and decided by the different NATO allies as a national issue.”

The Turkish military officials, who all deny any wrongdoing, were at NATO until they were fired by Ankara in September. Both are seeking asylum in Belgium, where the alliance has its headquarters. Others have made requests in Germany, where NATO has an air base.

According to Reuters, more than 400 military staff and diplomats have been summoned back to Ankara, but some are choosing not to return. They have claimed that their colleagues have been imprisoned without charge and have had almost no contact with lawyers or family members.

Turkey has sacked or suspended over 110,000 people in the military, civil service, judiciary and elsewhere and jailed 36,000 people pending trial as part of inquiries into the coup bid. Turkish officials say the scale of the crackdown, which enjoys broad popular support at home, is justified by the gravity of events on 15 July, when rogue soldiers commandeered tanks, fighter jets and helicopters, bombing parliament and government buildings in their attempt to seize power killing 240 people.