Over 6,700 Turkish citizens filed for asylum in Germany over the recent 12 months, Die Welt reported quoting German internal affairs ministry.

Among them 500 are military and diplomats as well as their families. The newspaper assumes that the officials fear further persecution or sentence in Turkey.

High ranking representatives of Turkish police and special services, among them one of the heads of Turkish intelligence, have filed for a political asylum.

Around 150 state officials, police officers, professors and military were fired in Turkey since the coup attempt in 2016. They are suspected of supporting Fethullah Gulen – a Turkish cleric whom Ankara is accusing of terrorism and masterminding the coup attempt.