Sgt. Dimitris Kouklatzis and Lt. Angelos Mitretodis will stay in a Turkish prison after a court in Edirne (Adrianopolis) turned down a fourth request that theĀ Greek soldiersĀ be released from pre-trial custody.
Tuesday’s decision followed a defense team bid to have to two men — held since accidentally crossing the Turkish border on March 2 — released from custody.
AllĀ previous three appealsĀ have been rejected on the grounds that they do not have permanent residence in Turkey and are therefore considered a flight risk.
Last week, Greeceās government said it wanted to re-assign the two menĀ in Turkey to give them legal protection.
In comments to GreeceāsĀ ERA radio, Alternate Defense Minister Fotis Kouvelis said parliament could assign them a āpostā in Turkey.
This would see them be paid as officers serving overseas and could remove Turkish court objections to them being bailed. However, it seems the legal maneuver has failed.
There has still been no trial date set, and a complete indictment has not yet been produced.
KouvelisĀ said recentlyĀ that the two servicemenās imprisonment is part of an āunacceptable nationalist tacticā employed by Turkish PresidentĀ Recep Tayyip ErdoganĀ in the run-up to the countryās elections which take place on Sunday.
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