Turkish soldiers in Adana during a visit by former German President Joachim Gauck in 2014. Photo: DPAGermany has granted political asylum to numerous Turkish military personnel and their families holding diplomatic passports, German media reported on Monday, amid strained relations between the two NATO allies. The German interior ministry was not immediately available for comment, but according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung daily and public broadcasters WDR and NDR, authorities confirmed that Germany gave positive responses to the asylum petitions of these Turkish nationals. The interior ministry said last month that it had received 262 applications for political asylum from Turkish nationals holding diplomatic passports, but it did not say how many of the requests came from Turkish military personnel stationed at NATO bases. Since the July 2016 failed coup in Turkey, 414 military personnel, diplomats, judges and other high-ranking Turkish officials have sought political asylum in Germany, according to interior ministry figures published by the three German media.

Source: The Local May 09, 2017 06:45 UTC