Turkish Cypriot man arrested over espionage for Greeks after filming soldiers
LEFKOŞA - Demirören News Agency
Mehmet Besimoğlu (R)
A man in Turkish Cyprus has been arrested over espionage for Greek Cyprus after he took photos of Turkish soldiers at the port of Famagusta.
Turkish Cypriot police said they were intercepting the man, identified as Mehmet Besimoğlu, over suspicions that he was working as a spy for Greek Cypriots.
Besimoğlu was arrested on Aug. 29 after he took the photos with a digital camera. He admitted in his police testimony that he took the photos of the soldiers and the military base at the port to deliver them to a Greek Cypriot.
According to local media, the suspect was in “constant contact” with the unidentified Greek Cypriot through his phone line registered in Greek Cyprus.
Besimoğlu was sent to prison ahead of an espionage trial.
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.
Turkish Cyprus was declared independent on Nov. 15, 1983. It is currently recognized only by Turkey 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.
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