A 26-year-old man from Azerbaijan who was arrested while found collecting photographic material from the wider area of the military base at Souda was granted an extension to present his defense. The young man was legally in the country, holding a Polish passport, while criminal charges were filed against him for espionage by continuation and for disobedience, as he refused to be fingerprinted.
According to information from local parakritika.gr., the 26-year-old had come to Chania from mid-May together with a second person, whose role is also being investigated by the authorities. A week ago he had left his first accommodation and apparently booked to stay somewhere else in order to have a better view of the Souda base. That’s where the operation for his arrest took place.
Information suggests he moved around without raising suspicion, like a normal visitor to Chania, going for swimming, to mini markets for shopping, etc., while initially he had expressed interest in staying for two months, however he eventually decided to leave his accommodation. Late Monday afternoon he appeared before the Prosecutor’s Office and was granted an extension to present his defense Wednesday morning, while he refused the appointment of a lawyer, stating he already has one.
Espionage in Souda: Detailed police announcement
A police announcement states characteristically:
“Yesterday, Sunday June 22, 2025, a person was arrested in an area of Crete, with the assistance of the National Intelligence Service, against whom a case file was formed for espionage.
The arrested person is being led to the competent prosecutorial authority”.
Police confiscated a camera, a laptop, mobile phone and a USB stick, where many photographs of the military installations were found. In fact, the 26-year-old allegedly had in his possession 5,000 photographs from the naval base.
