ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th December, 2020) The Hellenic police on Friday detained a Greek national employed with the Turkish consulate on the island of Rhodes on suspicion of spying, the Rodiaki newspaper reported.
On Sunday, the Greek police said it had detained two men on the island and according to the Attica Security Directorate, a case was filed against the two for violating article 148 � on espionage. One of them worked as a cook on a passenger ship, operating ferry routes connecting Rhodes Island with the island of Megisti (Kastellorizo), another in the Turkish consulate in Rhodes. Both of the suspects are Greek Muslims. The authorities seized computers and mobile phones during a search of the consulate secretary's house.
According to the media outlet, an investigator has issued arrest warrants for two Greeks accused of espionage. The 56-year-old cook was arrested earlier in the week in the city of Komotini. He will be taken to Rhodes Island to testify, the newspaper added.
In the meantime, the secretary of the Turkish consulate has denied any involvement in the case, while the country's Foreign Ministry condemned the arrests.
"We condemn the arrest of Sebahattin Bayram, the Secretary at the Turkish Consulate General in Rhodes, as part of an investigation carried out by the Greek authorities on allegations of espionage regarding taking photographs of vessels. In the process leading to the arrest of our staff, who is a Greek citizen, Greece has violated the provisions," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Turkey has been engaged in a long-standing maritime border dispute with Greece and Cyprus over the size of their exclusive economic zones in the Eastern Mediterranean. Athens and Nicosia have voiced their strong objection to the presence of Turkish exploration vessels in waters that both Greece and Cyprus claim to be part of their respective exclusive economic zones.
