Six years after a brutal coup attempt, Greece is a top destination for members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). After the quashed attempt by military infiltrators of the terrorist group, Turkey's neighbor has been the first gateway and occasional residence of FETÖ members fleeing justice.

According to the Greek press estimates, since July 15, 2016, nearly 20,000 Turkish citizens, mostly FETÖ members, crossed into Greece via the Aegean islands or the Meriç (Evros) River. While some of them went on to other European countries, about 9,000 of them sought political asylum in Greece itself.

Notoriously, just one day after the coup bid, eight FETÖ member soldiers fled to the Greek city of Alexandroupolis in a military helicopter belonging to Turkey and sought asylum there. In Greece, the soldiers claimed that they were unaware of the coup plot, and Athens refused to agree to insistent extradition requests from Turkish officials.

This April the Greek media claimed that the FETÖ member soldiers were sent abroad by Greek authorities out of fear Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) might seek to bring them home to face justice.

In March 2021, FETÖ ringleader Fetullah Gülen sent a video message to a promotional event in Athens for a book written about him. "Greece is a sister country," Gülen said. "Thanks to this brotherhood, we remember them with gratitude and appreciation. (What Greece did) will be written with gold and silver on the glorious pages of history."

The book about the terrorist leader, "Fethullah Gülen: A Life of Service," was written by U.S. historian Jon Pahl and published in Greek by Papazisis Publishers.

In 2019, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu stated that although Greece was involved in the practice of "pushing back" migrants, it never sent back FETÖ members.

Apart from FETÖ, Greece has been criticized for harboring members of far-left terrorist groups. Last year, Greek courts ordered the release of members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), which is recognized as a terrorist group by the European Union and the U.S.

The DHKP-C, who are the perpetrators of a series of crimes in Turkey, including the killing of a prosecutor and the bombing of the U.S. Embassy, have long enjoyed protection in Greece. Its members wanted by Turkey stayed in the Lavrion refugee camp, claiming fear of persecution in Turkey.