Athens // The supreme court in Greece on Thursday blocked the extradition of eight Turkish military officers sought by Ankara over July's failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a justice source said.
The men landed a helicopter in Greece a day after the botched putsch and asked for asylum, setting up a politically delicate situation in Greece.
Turkey has branded them "terrorists" and the case is awkward for Athens, which is working with Nato ally Ankara to stem the flow of migrants through its territory towards western Europe.
"Regardless of their [alleged] culpability or the seriousness of their crimes, extradition cannot be applied because the rights of those wanted could be nullified or curtailed," the court said.
The officers - two commanders, four captains and two sergeants - embraced each other and snapped pictures with their Greek lawyers after the ruling was read out, the source said.
In addition, the court ordered that the eight be released from police custody.
However, shortly after the court's decision Turkey issued an arrest warrant for the eight men, Turkish media reported. Turkey has previously asked for the mens' extradition.
It is an uncomfortable situation as both Turkey and Greece are not only working together on the migrant crisis, but are involved in delicate talks to reunify Cyprus.
Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras told Mr Erdogan in September that democracy was "very important" to Greece and coup plotters were "not welcome", according to state agency ANA.
But Greek justice minister Stavros Kontonis said earlier this month the government would respect any decision by the court.
After the men landed in the northern Greek city of Alexandroupolis, Turkey's then ambassador warned that failure to return the officers "will not help" ties.
"I hope we will manage to swiftly go through the phases of due process and manage to return these terrorist elements so that they will face justice," the ambassador had said.
When the officers arrived a local court handed them a two-month prison sentence for illegal entry into the country, suspended over a three-year period.
They were later relocated to Athens and have spent the past six months in police custody.
In his defence, one of the Turkish officers had said: "We saw indiscriminate arrests of military personnel and we were afraid."
Another said: "I'm proud to be an army man. I would not have left Turkey had my life not been in danger."
The officers deny having taken part in the putsch and claim their lives are in danger.
* Agence France-Presse
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