Greek court orders pre-trial detention of Azeri accused of espionage
The man, who has a temporary Polish residence permit, was arrested on Sunday on accusations of monitoring the base in Souda - a strategic facility for Greece, the United States and the NATO military alliance in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Athens News Agency said the accused man had denied the charges, saying he was a tourist on holiday to Crete with two companions.
Police acted on information from the country's intelligence service, sources close to the investigation said, adding that he had been staying since June 18 in a hotel room with a view that extended to the naval and air force base in western Crete.
During his arrest, police confiscated a high-resolution digital camera with a telephoto lens and USB sticks from his room and found that encryption software was installed on his laptop, the sources said. The evidence included videos and photographs of a Greek Navy frigate, they said.
The investigation is still in progress and authorities are investigating whether the case is linked with the arrest of a British man in Cyprus on suspicion of terror-related offences and espionage. Israel accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Saturday of trying to attack Israeli citizens on the island. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
Israel steps up Gaza City bombing after Netanyahu vow to expand offensive, World News
CAIRO — Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in weeks on Monday (Aug 11) in areas east of Gaza City, just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected to complete a new expanded offensive against Hamas "fairly quickly". An airstrike also killed six journalists including prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al Sharif in a tent at Gaza City's Al Shifa Hospital compound, the deadliest strike against journalists during an Israeli campaign that has lasted more than 22 months. Witnesses said Israeli tanks and planes pounded Sabra, Zeitoun, and Shejaia, three eastern suburbs of Gaza City in the north of the territory, on Monday, pushing many families westwards from their homes. Some Gaza City residents said it was one of the worst nights in weeks, raising fears of military preparations for a deeper offensive into their city, which Hamas says is now sheltering about one million people after the displacement of residents from the enclave's northern edges. The Israeli military said its forces fired artillery at Hamas militants in the area. There was no sign on the ground of forces moving deeper into Gaza City as part of the newly approved Israeli offensive, which was not expected to begin in the coming weeks. "It sounded like the war was restarting," said Amr Salah, 25. "Tanks fired shells at houses, and several houses were hit, and the planes carried out what we call fire rings, whereby several missiles landed on some roads in eastern Gaza," he told Reuters via a chat app. The Israeli military said its forces on Sunday dismantled a launch site east of Gaza City, which Hamas used to fire rockets towards Israeli communities across the border. Netanyahu on Sunday said he had instructed the Israeli military to speed up its plans for the new offensive. "I want to end the war as quickly as possible, and that is why I have instructed the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) to shorten the schedule for seizing control of Gaza City," he said. Netanyahu said the new offensive would focus on Gaza City, which he described as Hamas' "capital of terrorism". He also indicated that the coastal area of central Gaza may be next, saying Hamas militants have been pushed there too. The new plans have raised alarm abroad, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying on Monday they heralded "a disaster of unprecedented gravity" and "a move towards a never-ending war". On Friday, Germany, a key European ally, announced it would halt exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza. Britain and other European allies urged Israel to reconsider its decision to escalate the Gaza military campaign. Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, told Reuters that some countries appeared to be putting pressure on Israel rather than on Hamas, whose deadly attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, ignited the war. Israel's planned offensive coincides with worsening hunger in Gaza. On Monday, the territory's health ministry said five more people had died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours. That raised the number of deaths from such causes to 222, including 101 children, since the war began, the ministry said. Israel says it has scaled up the entry of aid and commercial goods into Gaza in past weeks. Palestinian and UN officials say the aid is a fraction of what Gaza needs. Journalists killed Medics at Al Shifa Hospital said the airstrike that killed Al Jazeera's Al Sharif and four of his colleagues also killed local freelancer Mohammad Al-Khaldi, raising the number of dead journalists from the strike to six. Israel confirmed it had targeted and killed Al Sharif, alleging he had headed a Hamas cell and was involved in rocket attacks against Israel. Al Jazeera rejected the claim, and before his death Al Sharif had also dismissed Israeli allegations that he had links to Hamas. Hamas, the militant group which has run Gaza since 2007, linked his killing to the new planned offensive. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said 238 journalists have been killed in almost two years of war. The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 186 journalists have been killed. Hamas-led fighters triggered the war in October 2023, when they stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies. About 50 hostages are still in Gaza, but only around 20 are thought to be alive. More than 61,000 Palestinians have since been killed by Israel's campaign, according to Gaza health officials. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced multiple times and its residents are facing a humanitarian crisis, with swaths of the territory reduced to rubble. [[nid:721196]]
Straits Times
14 hours ago
- Straits Times
Poland charges Ukrainian citizen with involvement in parcel bomb
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox WARSAW - Polish prosecutors have charged a Ukrainian citizen with involvement in sending a parcel bomb using a courier company, Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) said on Monday. An indictment was filed with the District Court in the central Polish town of Piotrkow Trybunalski against a Ukrainian citizen called Kristina S., the ABW said in a statement It said that Kristina S. was being charged under an article of the penal code relating to causing damage through arson or explosions. This section of the penal code does not cover collaboration with foreign intelligence services. It said the package was discovered in a courier company's warehouse in the nearby city of Lodz. The statement provided no details on a possible motive. European authorities have been on high alert for explosive packages since a series of explosions in courier depots in Britain, Germany and near the Polish capital Warsaw in July 2024. Western officials have blamed those incidents on Russia. European officials have, in recent years, blamed Moscow for acts of sabotage such as arson. Moscow denies such accusations. The ABW statement said that "in July 2024, the accused participated in the shipment of a parcel transported by a courier company, containing explosives," an initiating device and electric detonators, among other items. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business Lower-wage retail workers to receive up to 6% pay bump from Sept 1 Singapore Keppel to sell M1's telco business to Simba for $1.43b, says deal expected to benefit consumers Singapore ST Explains: Who owns Simba, the company that is buying M1? Singapore ST Explains: What is Vers and which HDB estates could it be rolled out in? Singapore For Vers to work, compensation should account for varied needs of HDB flat owners: Observers Singapore PM Wong's National Day Rally speech to begin at 6.45pm on Aug 17 Singapore Ong Ye Kung rebuts complaints about treatment of stallholders at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre Singapore 'Incorrigible' sexual predator who preyed on children convicted for 4th time "This structure constituted a so-called shaped charge bomb." The ABW said that Kristina S. committed the alleged offence along with another Ukrainian citizen and two Russian citizens. Two people were being detained in connection with the case, prosecutors said in a separate statement. The parcel and its explosives could "have caused significant damage to critical infrastructure," prosecutors said, citing a chemical expert opinion obtained from the internal security agency. REUTERS
Straits Times
15 hours ago
- Straits Times
UN says Israel's killing of Al Jazeera journalists ‘grave breach of humanitarian law'
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Palestinians attend the funeral of journalists from Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera killed by Israel on Aug 10. GENEVA – The UN human rights agency condemned on Aug 11 Israel's targeted killing of six journalists in Gaza as a 'grave breach of international humanitarian law'. The office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on X that the Israeli military targeted on Aug 10 a tent housing five staff from Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera. A freelance journalist was also killed in the strike, which Israel has acknowledged was a planned operation. 'Israel must respect and protect all civilians, including journalists,' Mr Turk's office added, noting that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the Hamas attacks on Israel set off war in the Palestinian territory in October 2023. 'We call for immediate, safe and unhindered access to Gaza for all journalists,' it said. The Israeli military confirmed it targeted prominent reporter Anas al-Sharif, whom it has repeatedly labelled a 'terrorist' affiliated with Hamas, saying he 'posed as a journalist'. Reporters Without Borders, a media freedom group, said it 'strongly and angrily condemns the acknowledged murder by the Israeli army' of Mr Al-Sharif and the other journalists. AFP
