Turkey is pressing Greece to extradite people accused of links to the faith-based Gülen movement, while Greek officials deny that the presence of Turkish asylum seekers amounts to an organized network, the Greek iefimerida news website reported on Monday.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi raised the issue during an October 8 visit to Athens, where he met with Greek Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis and Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris.
Çiftçi called for the return of Gülen movement members and accused them of abusing refugee protections. He also sought faster extradition proceedings for 60 people he described as being in Greek custody, some of whom he alleged were members of criminal organizations wanted through INTERPOL Red Notices.
Greek Citizen Protection Ministry sources denied Ankara’s allegations that an organized branch of the movement operates in Greece and rejected equating Turkish nationals seeking international protection with a criminal organization, iefimerida wrote.
A source familiar with extradition cases told the website that no recent formal request appeared to have been submitted for someone prosecuted over Gülen links or other political grounds. The requests received concerned accusations such as murder, robbery and kidnapping.
The source explained that extraditions require review by prosecutors and courts, with the possibility of an appeal to Greece’s Supreme Court. A ministerial meeting cannot authorize someone’s return, and any final approval by the justice minister must follow the judicial process.
An INTERPOL Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest someone pending extradition or similar proceedings. It does not compel a country to arrest or extradite the person.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan began targeting the Gülen movement after corruption investigations in December 2013 implicated him, his relatives and political allies. The movement takes its inspiration from the late Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
His government designated the movement a terrorist organization in May 2016 and expanded the crackdown after accusing it of orchestrating a coup attempt that July. The movement denies orchestrating the coup attempt and engaging in terrorism.
The United States and the European Union do not recognize Turkey’s designation. Thousands of people accused of Gülen links have been jailed, and many others have fled Turkey to seek asylum abroad.
Extradition demands previously strained relations between Turkey and Greece after eight Turkish military officers fled to Greece by helicopter following the 2016 coup attempt. Greece’s Supreme Court rejected their extradition in January 2017, citing concerns about their safety and access to a fair trial.
The latest discussions also coincided with Turkey’s efforts to secure the return of businessman Murat Gülibrahimoğlu, who faces accusations connected to a corruption case involving jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s main political rival.
Greek police denied Turkish media accounts that Gülibrahimoğlu had been arrested. He applied for international protection in July and his application is under review. Police confirmed receiving extradition documents from Turkey, while Gülibrahimoğlu maintains that the case against him is politically motivated.
