Over 130 Turks holding diplomatic passports seek asylum in Germany after failed coup

More than 130 Turks with diplomatic passports have sought asylum in Germany after a failed coup last summer in attempt to overthrow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Friday.

The local daily reported that during August 2016 to this January, a total of 136 Turks, who were diplomats, soldiers as well as their family members, had applied for refuge.

They were believed to be supporters or sympathizers of the Gulen Movement, now branded as a terror group by Ankara for its exiled leader Fethullah Gulen's alleged role in directing the coup attempt in July 2016.

Turkey have been pressuring Germany, where around 1.6 million Turks resided, to extradite the dissidents, especially the military officers.

However, Berlin questioned the hunt-down by Ankara and saw it as a purge overseas, which strained the ties between the two countries.

Germany's local media lately also accused Turkish diplomatic agencies of encouraging Turks to spy on their fellows and denounce the critics of Erdogan.

On Friday, Turkish consulates in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia dismissed the allegations as "incorrect" and "unacceptable." Endit