Turkish military officers granted extension to be interviewed by Greek Asylum Service

The officers were accompanied by their lawyers and requested an extension to be better prepared for the interviews.

The interview dates were set for 19, 23, 24 and 25 August.

The Turkish officers have applied for asylum after fleeing from Turkey during a failed coup, when they crossed the border in a helicopter and landed in the northeastern Greek city of Alexandroupolis.

The interviews are part of the process of evaluating asylum applications made by the eight last week. Under the law, applicants have seven days after their application is submitted in which to prepare for the interview. Once the interviews are complete, an asylum service employee will announce the primary-level decision. If asylum is refused, the applicants can appeal and their application is then reviewed again in a secondary process.