GC man is charged with taking photos of military bases
ANDREAS Soudjis, the Greek Cypriot who was initially held in custody in North Cyprus for two weeks on suspicion of espionage, has now been formally charged in a military court with the lesser crimes of photographing a “firstdegree military base” and using radio devices without obtaining permission from the necessary authorities.
The crimes of which he is accused were set out in a hearing on Thursday, which was attended by Mr Soudjis’s family and friends, as well as a number of proreunification activists.
During the hearing, investigating officer Murat Ergün claimed that Mr Soudjis had taken photographs of five different areas that are classed as “first degree military zones”, and that he was in possession of two maps that had been marked on Google, one of which was of a military zone.
Following on from this, prosecutor Doğa Tokay demanded that Mr Soudjis be held in the Central Prison while he awaits trial, as he believes that he could be a flight risk as he is a citizen and resident of South Cyprus, and because the crimes of which he is accused are “serious”.
Mr Soudjis’s lawyer Öncel
Polili requested that the court clarify that there were no formal accusations of espionage being levelled against his client, and the police confirmed that there is no such accusation being made at this point.
He also asked Officer Ergün why there was no lawyer present
when Mr Soudjis was said to have made a verbal confession and while he was showing police where he had taken photographs.
Mr Polili then noted that Mr Soudjis suffered from health problems during his two weeks of incarceration and requested that he underwent a full medical examination in a hospital at the earliest opportunity.
Judge Hazal Hacımulla ruled that Mr Soudjis be remanded in custody for a period not exceeding seven days pending trial, and granted Mr Polili’s request that Mr Soudjis undergo a full medical evaluation.