MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Ismail Pekin, former head of the Intelligence Department at Turkish Armed Forces’ General Staff, said NATO-based Turkish officers, military attaches with the Turkish Embassy as well as communications and logistics bureau staff in Koblenz had been missed by Ankara long before they applied for asylum.
"The German interior minister has recently said they would accept asylum requests from the opposition. I think this prompted the officers in hiding to apply," Pekin suggested to Sputnik.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed earlier today some Turkish officers in the alliance’s command structures claimed asylum in countries they were posted to, after German media reported several Turkish personnel at the Ramstein air base sought refuge together with their families.
Turkey declared a state of emergency after the July 15 coup attempt. Thousands of military personnel, officials and members of the opposition were detained or laid off in a purge that followed, drawing criticism from Ankara's allies in Europe.
