Greek police arrest man on suspicion of spying in Crete
ATHENS - Greek police have arrested an Azeri man suspected of espionage on the island of Crete, which is home to a NATO military base, based on information from the country's intelligence service, police said on Monday.
Greek authorities were investigating if the 26-year-old Azeri man was monitoring the base in Souda - a strategic facility for Greece, the U.S. and the NATO military alliance in the eastern Mediterranean - and if the case was linked with the recent arrest of a British man in Cyprus on suspicion of terror-related offences, sources said.
The man, who was arrested on Sunday, had been staying since June 18 in a hotel near the naval and air force base in western Crete. More than 5,000 photographs and encryption software were found on a laptop that was confiscated, along with other digital equipment, from the hotel room, the sources said.
He was expected to appear before a prosecutor this week. 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
Straits Times
36 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Georgia jails three opposition politicians, including bank founder
FILE PHOTO: Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change opposition party, accused of failing to fulfil the demands of the Georgian parliament's temporary investigative commission probing the activities of the 2003-2012 government and its officials, attends a court hearing in Tbilisi, Georgia May 22, 2025. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/Pool/ File Photo Three Georgian opposition politicians were sentenced to months in prison on Monday, the first to be convicted in a series of prosecutions targeting government critics who refused to give evidence to lawmakers. Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, leading figures in the opposition Lelo for Georgia party, were both sentenced to eight months, while Zurab Japaridze of the Coalition for Change bloc received seven months. Khazaradze is a co-founder of London-listed TBC Bank, one of Georgia's largest. Authorities have launched a string of cases against people accused of refusing to testify to a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoing under jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who led the South Caucasus country from 2004 to 2012. Four other people are also being prosecuted. Georgian authorities have moved to clamp down on leading figures of the pro-European Union opposition as street protests continue over a disputed October election and a subsequent government decision to halt talks on joining the EU. Khazaradze and both Japaridzes, who are not related, were also banned from holding public office for two years, the Interpress news agency reported. Their parties rejected last year's election result and accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of rigging the poll in order to win a fourth term. The government denies that allegation, but two U.S. pollsters said there was evidence of manipulation. In a post on X, Khazaradze rejected the court's ruling, saying the parliamentary commission "has no real function" and pointing out he did not hold public office during the period the body is investigating. Spokespeople for the parties of the jailed politicians did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Traditionally one of the most pro-Western countries to emerge from the Soviet Union, Georgia has taken a sharply authoritarian turn in recent years, critics say. Georgian Dream has passed a slew of laws clamping down on foreign-funded organisations operating in the country, and on LGBT people. Georgian Dream says it still wants to join the EU but also wants to preserve the country's traditional values and keep peace with its huge northern neighbour, Russia. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
39 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Israeli strikes on Iran may have violated international law, UN mission says
GENEVA - A fact-finding mission mandated by the United Nations said on Monday that some of Israel's strikes on Iran may have broken international humanitarian law, citing the killing of civilians in an apartment block and three aid workers in Tehran. Israel began airstrikes on Iran in a surprise attack on June 13 that killed many of Iran's top commanders and has intensified attacks since, prompting an exodus from the capital. The United States joined on Sunday by hitting Iran's underground nuclear sites. "Among those killed in Tehran were dozens of residents of an apartment complex and three humanitarian workers from the Iranian Red Cross, while damaged sites included a clinic for children with autism and a hospital in Kermanshah," the investigative body said in a statement to journalists, referring to the Israeli strikes. "This, and the reported lack of effective advance warning by Israel, which may affect the population's ability to reach safety, raise serious concerns in relation to the principles of proportionality, distinction, and precaution under international humanitarian law." The mission said that millions had so far fled the capital and that a lack of warning systems, adequate shelters and internet restrictions had increased the dangers. After Israel struck a notorious jail for political prisoners on Monday, the experts voiced concern about detainees held near the sites of bombings. "The experts call on the Iranian authorities to relocate prisoners away from locations at risk from the airstrikes," the statement said. It also voiced concerns about reports of arbitrary arrests by Iranian authorities of activists, journalists and social media users accused of espionage with Israel - a crime that is punishable by death in Iran. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
UK bans Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in protest against Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's plans to proscribe the \"Palestine Action\" group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy Police officers detain a protester as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in protest against Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's plans to proscribe the \"Palestine Action\" group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy Police officers block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in protest against Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's plans to proscribe the \"Palestine Action\" group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy LONDON - Britain said on Monday it would ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws, making it a criminal offence to belong to the pro-Palestinian campaign group which last week damaged two UK military planes in protest at London's support for Israel. The so-called proscription of Palestine Action puts the group on a par with Hamas, al-Qaeda or ISIS under British law, banning anyone from promoting the group, arranging meetings or carrying its logo in public. Those breaching the rules could face up to 14 years in jail. Palestine Action has regularly targeted defence firms and other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023. Two of its members entered a Royal Air Force base in central England on Friday, spraying paint into the engines of the Voyager aircraft and further damaging them with crowbars, in the group's most high-profile move to date. It has said that Britain was an "active participant" in the conflict in Gaza, citing military support it provides to Israel. Interior minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement on Monday that the draft proscription order will be laid before Parliament on June 30 and would become law after it goes through the parliamentary process. Earlier on Monday, the group changed the location of a planned protest after police banned it from staging a demonstration outside parliament, otherwise a popular location for protests in support of a range of causes. Palestine Action's members are alleged to have caused millions of pounds of criminal damage, police have said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
