2,800 Turks applied for Swiss asylum since coup bid

By Bayram Altug

GENEVA (AA) - Around 2,800 Turkish citizens have applied for asylum in Switzerland since August 2016, after the bloody coup attempt of Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in Turkey, according to local media.

NZZ am Sonntag reported that there was a 130% increase in applications compared to the previous three years, basing its story on State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) sources.

Secretariat spokesperson Lukas Rieder was also quoted by the newspaper saying that "the increase in Turkish asylum seekers is a result of internal developments in Turkey," hinting at the defeated coup attempt and an attempt by FETO terror group members to get asylum.

Turkey has complained that European countries have failed to recognize FETO as a terror group and do not comply with its extradition requests.

The acceptance rate of Turkish citizens’ asylum applications was 62%, reportedly higher than overall rate of other countries' citizens.

It was also reported that Turkey was the number two country for citizens applying to Switzerland for asylum as of last July.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

* Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet in Ankara