The president of Greece’s Parliament, Nikos Voutsis, on Wednesday is expected to visit two Greek servicemen still being held in pre-trial detention in an Edirne prison, a border city in European Turkey.
The visit is significant because it is the first time an elected Greek state official – and not diplomats or private citizens – will visit Lt. Angelos Mitretodis and Sgt. Dimitris Kouklatzis since the pair was arrested for allegedly straying into Turkish territory along a poorly demarcated spot on the Greek-Turkish land frontier on March 1, 2018.
A Greek European Parliament (MEP) deputy, Manolis Kefaloyannis, visited the pair this week as the head of a Euro-parliament delegation visiting Turkey.
The Greek government, political parties, top European officials and even NATO’s leadership have demanded the release of the men, who have been held in custody on a vague initial charge of illegally entering a restricted military zone. However, no formal indictment has been handed down, while an ongoing judicial investigation by a first instance prosecutor in Edirne has dragged on without a deadline for completion. As such, no court date has been set, assuming a specific charge or charges is filed.
Voutsis is in Turkey for a Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) summit of member-states’ parliament presidents that will take place in Istanbul.
