UNEXPECTED HEADLINES: Thousands of Turks escaping Erdogan’s crackdown find an unlikely haven in Greece.

After spending 10 years in maximum security prisons in Turkey — including stints of isolation and torture — Turgut Kaya, a prominent local journalist and dissident, decided it was time to flee.

Like thousands of his fellow Turks in recent years, his destination was nearby Greece, which has traditionally had a complicated and wary relationship with its neighbor across the Aegean.

“It’s not just me,” the 45-year-old Mr. Kaya, recently given asylum after a 55-day hunger strike, said at an Athens cafe. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “is attacking students, academics, teachers and many other people that have no relations with any of the organizations he considers his enemies.”

“They don’t have any proof to go after me or these people — even judges are now in prison or exile,” he said.

Sultans gotta sultanate.