Athens: The co-pilot of a helicopter, who flew seven other Turkish military officers to Greece a day after last year’s failed coup in Turkey, has been granted asylum, a Greek judicial source said on Saturday.

 The co-pilot landed in the Greek city of Alexandroupoli, not far from the Turkish border, hours after the putsch was defeated on July 15 2016, and had denied being part of the coup attempt.

 The decision by Greek asylum authorities is a blow to Ankara, which has repeatedly requested for the co-pilot to be extradited, but the judges ruled that his human rights would be at risk.

 They took into account reports from human rights groups and the Council of Europe, according to the source, that warned Turkey has regularly committed human rights abuses against coup suspects.

 Despite Turkey’s assertions, the judges said there was no evidence to suggest the co-pilot had participated in the failed coup.

 A ruling on the seven other military officers will be made in the coming weeks.

Agence France-Presse