A Greek appeal court has sentenced a man who worked for a Turkish consulate to five years in prison on spying charges, according to Reuters.
The man, a Greek national employed with the Turkish consulate on the island of Rhodes, was arrested in 2020. He had denied any wrongdoing and Turkiye's foreign ministry had condemned the arrest, saying it violated the then consular official's rights.
A second Greek national, who worked as a cook on a passenger ship operating the Rhodes-Kastelorizo line, was also sentenced by the court. Before their arrest, these two suspects had been under surveillance for several months. The Greek police accused them of photographing the movements of the Greek armed forces in the Aegean Sea.
Greece-Turkiye relations
Between Greece and Turkiye, there have been longstanding disputes and conflicts, ranging from the divided island of Cyprus to rights over oil and gas exploration in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.
In December of last year, both countries agreed to reset their relations by developing a roadmap aimed at opening a new era of closer ties between them.
Additionally, over the past few years, the EU has witnessed an influx of migrants from African and Asian countries, who primarily enter Europe through Turkiye and Greece. These migrants are transported to Greek border islands on inflatable boats and other vessels, often in the absence of action by the Turkish coast guard.