Greece jails Azerbaijani man over spying on base

ATHENS

A Greek court has sentenced a 27-year-old Azerbaijani national to more than seven years in prison on espionage charges linked to alleged surveillance of the strategically important Souda naval base on the island of Crete, legal sources said on May 21.

The man has denied the accusations and appealed the verdict, according to the reports.

The suspect, who received a prison sentence of seven years and one month, was arrested in June 2025 after a joint operation by Greek police and intelligence services. Authorities alleged that he had been monitoring the Souda naval and air force base in Chania, western Crete, a key military hub used by Greece, the United States and NATO.

Investigators said the man, who held a temporary residence permit issued by Poland, arrived in Greece in January 2025 and had been staying since mid-June in a hotel overlooking the military facilities. He was accused of gathering and transmitting classified military information, including photographs and videos of installations at the base

According to police sources, evidence presented in the case included 23 videos and nine photographs of a Greek Navy frigate that had docked at Souda for refuelling. Authorities also reportedly seized a high-resolution camera equipped with a telephoto lens, a tripod, USB readers and memory storage devices from his hotel room. Encryption software was allegedly found installed on his laptop

Defense lawyer Sofia Saripanidou rejected the espionage claims, telling Reuters that her client “did not intend to spy” and had merely photographed a publicly accessible view.

Greek authorities are also examining possible links between the case and the recent arrest of a British national in Cyprus on terrorism- and espionage-related suspicions. Israel has accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guards of plotting attacks against Israeli citizens on the island.

Earlier this year, Greek authorities detained another man, aged 36, at Athens airport on suspicion of spying on the same Souda base. The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford had visited the facility earlier in the year before deploying to the Middle East.