Greek Cypriot held on suspicion of espionage
A GREEK Cypriot man is being held in custody in the TRNC amid suspicions that he may have been spying.
Andreas Soutiz was arrested while re-entering North Cyprus after a walkie-talkie, photographs, maps of the TRNC and electronic data storage devices were found in his car.
Suspicions about his activities had earlier been roused after a walkie-talkie was found in the room of a
hotel in Mehmetçik in the Karpaz peninsula where he had been staying.
He was brought before İskele District Court on August 30 and remanded in custody, initially for three days, to allow more time for police to conduct investigations into the matter.
Mr Soutiz was remanded in custody for another five days at his second court appearance last Friday, before being brought to Lefkoşa District Court on Wednesday.
During Wednesday’s hearing presided over by Judge Hazal Hacımulla, Prosecutor Hasan Boşnak called investigating police officer Murat Ergün as a witness, who testified that after Mr Soutiz had checked out of the hotel on August 26, a cleaner found a walkietalkie while cleaning the room he had vacated, which was reported to the Ziyamet Police Station.
Noting that the investigation launched into the matter determined that Mr Soutiz had used the room and had crossed to South Cyprus, Officer Ergün said that the suspect, for whom an arrest warrant was issued, was apprehended on August 30 while re-entering the TRNC.
Officer Ergün stated that another walkie-talkie was found during the search of the suspect’s vehicle, as well as “many photographs, a USB, a voice recorder and nine maps of the TRNC”.
He also told the court that “21,775 pieces of data” were found among the evidence in the suspect’s possession and sent to the “relevant division for examination”.
Officer Ergün emphasised that Mr Soutiz had taken photos of two “prohibited military zones” in the Gazimağusa and Maraş areas on his mobile phone.
Pointing out that two military zones were found to be marked on one of the TRNC maps and that those areas had been photographed, Officer Ergün requested that as the matter is “very serious” and an “extensive investigation is ongoing” that the suspect be remanded in custody for an additional eight days.
The suspect’s lawyer, Öncel Polili, argued that his client had crossed to North Cyprus with a “tour group” of 25 people for “sightseeing”.
“My client participates in bicommunal activities and has relationships with many Turkish Cypriots,” Mr Polili told the court.
Mr Polili objected to both the remand request and its duration and said that the police had “carried out the investigation with ease”.
Prosecutor Boşnak, however, stated that there is “evidence and his own confessions” that link Mr Soutiz “to this crime”.
Pointing out that “this crime threatens public safety” and stressing the “importance of conducting the investigation properly”, Mr Boşnak also requested that the suspect be remanded in custody for a further eight days.
Judge Hacımulla rejected the objections of the defence and ordered the suspect be remanded in custody for eight days and “immediately be examined by a doctor at a fully equipped state hospital”.