A 26-year-old Azerbaijani man was arrested for espionage, who was photographing the aeronautical bases in Souda. The case is considered particularly serious by the Greek authorities as Souda is one of the most important aeronautical bases of the US military in the Mediterranean. This comes after the arrest of another Azerbaijani man in Cyprus accused for terrorism.
HDN Newsroom
The man who photographed the bases in Souda was born in Azerbaijan and has a Polish passport. His case is considered particularly serious and comes in addition to the incident with the arrest of another Azerbaijani for terrorism a few 24 hours ago in Cyprus. It should be noted that the second Azerbaijani, who was arrested in Cyprus and specifically in the Zakaki area of Limassol, was on the island "to collect information about a possible terrorist attack".
The Azerbaijani man who was arrested yesterday (22.06.2025) Sunday was reportedly staying in a hotel located near the aeronautical base and was taking photos of both the base in Souda and warships that entered and exited the naval base.
During his arrest, the police confiscated a camera, a laptop, a mobile phone and a USB stick and many photos of the military facilities were found. In fact, the 26-year-old was in possession of 5,000 photos from the naval base.
For his arrest, information collected by the National Intelligence Service of Greece (EYP) was used.
According to sources from Hellenic Police (ELAS) and EYP, the case is extremely serious and is part of the expanded security measures after the ignition in the Middle East and especially after the Americans hit Iran's nuclear facilities in the early hours of Saturday to Sunday.
Let's not forget that Souda is one of the most powerful aeronautical bases of the U.S. Army in the Mediterranean. The measures that have been taken are draconian, especially after the US involvement in the Middle East.
He asked for a room with a view of the harbor and took more than 5,000 photos
The 26-year-old arrived in Chania on June 18 and asked to have a view of the port of Souda at the hotel where he was staying.
In fact, he had booked the room for a month. During the time he stayed there, he left his room only to get basic necessities.
After his arrest, searches were carried out in his room and a memory card, a mobile phone and a camera were found.
According to information, he had taken more than 5,000 photos of the entrance and exit of the port of Souda, from his room.
On his computer, special encryption software was also found through which he sent the photos. The authorities are currently looking for the recipient of the photos.
So far, the 26-year-old Azerbaijani, who speaks Russian and Turkish, has not cooperated with the authorities and has asked for a lawyer to represent him.
The Azerbaijani will be brought today (23/6) before the Prosecutor's Office, with the case file being for the charge of espionage.
