Spy suspect confesses working for Greek Cypriots

NICOSIA – Demirören News Agency

Mehmet Besimoğlu

A man in Turkish Cyprus who was previously arrested over espionage charges has confessed to working as a spy for Greek Cypriots. 

Mehmet Besimoğlu, 70, was arrested on Aug. 29 after Turkish Cypriot police caught him taking photos of Turkish soldiers at the port of Famagusta.

In his confession, Besimoğlu told the police he had worked as a spy for Greek Cypriots for five years and was receiving money for the photographs he took of military posts and churches located in Famagusta.

Besimoğlu said so far, he had taken 250 photographs for Greek Cypriots and had been delivering the relevant intelligence to a Greek Cypriot agent.

“Every two or three months, I was delivering the photographs on a USB card to a Greek Cypriot individual and was receiving an empty USD card from the Greek Cypriot,” Besimoğlu said, adding that for each meeting with the relevant Greek Cypriot spy, he was receiving 200-300 euros.

“I have been under arrest for the last 11 days. I can no longer bear being arrested. I am sick. I want to be hospitalized,” Besimoğlu said, adding that he regretted what he had done.

A Turkish Cypriot police officer told the court Besimoğlu had taken photographs of various military posts, soldiers, military vehicles and churches in 18 different dates over the past five years.

The court ruled for the continuation of the arrest of Besimoğlu.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot officials have determined the name of the Greek Cypriot spy Besimoğlu had been in contact with.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island’s Turks and Ankara’s intervention as a guarantor power.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was declared independent on Nov. 15, 1983. Currently, only Turkey recognizes it as an independent state.

The latest attempt to reunify the long-divided Mediterranean island ended in failure in July 2017 after two years of negotiations.