THESSALONIKI: A Georgian man arrested in northern Greece for suspected espionage in the second such case in a week was found not guilty on Saturday on grounds of reasonable doubt, court sources said.

The 67-year-old was arrested on Friday outside a military camp in Serres for allegedly taking photographs in an area where it is forbidden. The man was noticed by soldiers, who alerted the police.

Appearing before prosecutors on Saturday, the man apologised and claimed that he “did not realise that the place he was photographing was a military camp”. According to the same sources, he said that he only took two photos of the camp gate.

When the judge asked him if it is legal in Georgia to photograph military installations he replied that “camps in his country are mostly located in forest areas and are not accessible to civilians”.

The man claimed that he came to Greece on April 28 as a result of a close relative of his wife’s serious health problem. The case follows that of a Greek man remanded in custody on suspicion of photographing supply convoys on behalf of Russia in the port city of Alexandroupolis.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2025