Greece arrests two Georgians for allegedly spying on military and transit bases in the past week

In separate occasions over the past week, two Georgians were arrested in Greece on suspicion of espionage. Both arrests were in connection to suspected spying on military bases, including a port that is a key conduit of Western arms to Ukraine.

On Friday, a man described as a ‘59-year-old Greek citizen born in Georgia’ was charged with spying for allegedly taking videos and pictures of the port of Alexandroupolis in northern Greece, which is an important logistic hub for the US and NATO, as well as a transit centre for Western military aid on its way to Ukraine.

Greek authorities said they had intercepted text messages containing surveillance materials that the individual sent to another Georgian national in Lithuania, who was also arrested in connection to the case.

The person in Lithuania had allegedly been recruited by Russia’s military intelligence unit (GRU), and had offered the 59-year-old money to conduct surveillance on the port, the intercepted messages revealed. In response, the unnamed individual in Greece said he would perform the tasks for ‘Mother Russia’, adding that he had served in the Russian military when he was younger.

The 59-year-old had also been advised to dress like a hiker to avoid suspicion.

In a separate incident, a 67-year-old man, reportedly a Georgian-Polish citizen, was arrested on 2 May near the Greek city of Serres after he was caught allegedly taking photos of a military base.

The man said he ‘did not realise that the place he was photographing was a military camp’.

Following a court appearance, the charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence.

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OC MediaMikheil Gvadzabia