Greek court finds Azerbaijani man guilty of spying for monitoring military base

A Greek court sentenced a 27-year-old Azerbaijani man to prison on espionage charges on Tuesday for monitoring a military base on the island ​of Crete, legal sources said on Thursday.
He has denied wrongdoing and has ‌appealed the ruling.

The man, sentenced to seven years and one month in prison, was arrested in June last year following a surveillance operation by police and Greece's intelligence service, on ​suspicion of monitoring the Souda naval base — a strategic facility for ​Greece, the United States and NATO.

The probe showed that the man, ⁠who had a temporary residence permit from Poland, had first arrived in Greece ​in January 2025 and since mid-June had been staying in a hotel room ​with a view of the naval and air force base in Chania, western Crete.
He was accused of collecting and transmitting state secrets and critical military information to foreign powers, including photographs ​and videos of military installations, police sources said. Evidence included 23 videos and ​nine photographs of a Greek Navy frigate which had arrived in Souda for refuelling.
"He did ‌not ⁠intend to spy," his lawyer, Sofia Saripanidou, told Reuters. "He took pictures of a view, where everyone has access."

Items seized from his room included a high-resolution camera with a telephoto lens and a tripod, USB readers and data storage cards. Police ​also found encryption software ​installed on his ⁠laptop, according to the sources.