No evidence of espionage from drone footage taken by Turkish nationals

There are no indications that the two Turkish nationals who were arrested on suspicion of espionage after they were seen flying a drone over a naval station on the island of Poros are spies, Kathimerini understands.

An examination of the recordings made by the pair lead police and the National Intelligence Service (EYP) to the conclusion that they were bona fide tourists.

In any case, the two men will testify on Friday to an investigating magistrate in Piraeus on charges of espionage in relation to flying an unmanned aircraft over military installations.

The two men, aged 48 and 58, entered Greece by road on motorbikes under their real names. On September 15, they booked into a hotel on Poros and the next morning they flew a drone over the island’s naval training center.

About two hours later, they boarded a ship and traveled from Poros to Galatas. They were arrested on Sunday afternoon in Monemvasia in the restaurant of the hotel where they were staying.

The commander of the naval training center had reported to police that a drone was observed flying over the facility for approximately 10 minutes.

Police subsequently obtained one of the men’s names from the hotel that they stayed in on Poros.