Suspect accused of espionage in Cyprus 'took 201 photos of Turkish soldiers in 16 days'

LEFKOŞA - Demirören News Agency

Mehmet Besimoğlu

A man in Turkish Cyprus who was arrested over espionage for Greek Cyprus took 201 photos of Turkish soldiers on the island in 16 days, judiciary sources told Demirören News Agency.

Mehmet Besimoğlu, 70, was arrested in Famagusta on Aug. 29 after Turkish Cypriot police intercepted him over suspicions that he was working as a spy for Greek Cypriots

Besimoğlu 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.

Judiciary sources said on Sept. 1 that the suspect, who was sent to prison after arrest, took 201 photos of Turkish soldiers and military bases in Cyprus in 16 days.

Besimoğlu is accused of giving the photos to a suspected agent of Greek Cyprus, whom he was in "constant contact," according to telephone records.

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. 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.