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‘Boys in good health, with high morale,’ says soldier’s father

‘Boys in good health, with high morale,’ says soldier’s father

Two Greek soldiers being held pending trial after accidentally crossing into Turkish territory last week were found by their families to be “in good health and with high morale.”

Lieutenant Angelos Mitretodis, 25, and Sergeant Dimitris Kouklatzis, 27, were allowed a visit by their families on Monday in the prison where they are being held in the Turkish town of Edirne.

“We found the boys to be in good health and with high morale, a fact that impressed us,” Kouklatzis’s father, who was not named, told Alpha TV on Tuesday. “I have to say that they are being very well looked after.”

A Turkish court on Monday rejected an appeal for the soldiers’ release and ordered them remanded pending trial, though it is not clear whether they will face charges of illegal entry only or also of attempted espionage, as suggested by some Turkish media.

“Let us all hope that the authorities do what they have to do so we can soon put our arms around our boys and not have to talk to them on a telephone through the prison glass,” the father added. 

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