A court in Turkey on Friday sentenced a Greek citizen of Syrian origin, who was arrested in May and accused of being a spy for the Greek intelligence agency EYP, to 12 years imprisonment.
In June, Greek government spokesperson Giannis Oikonomou said Ampara had “nothing to do with any Greek service.”
Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) claimed that Muhammed Amar Ampara presented himself as a businessman during his travels to Turkey and engaged in espionage under the guise of trade.
Ampara – MIT claimed- compiled information about the Turkish Armed Forces elements on the border and transferred it to Greek intelligence.
Ampara also conducted research on Syrians in Turkey and businesspeople in Greece who support the Gulen group that is classified as “terrorists” in Turkey.
Ankara accuses the group (FETÖ) of orchestrating the coup of July 15, 2016, in Turkey where 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.
Greek “spy” was arrested in Turkey last May
MIT agents had stopped 67-year-old carpet trader Ampara on the main street in the city of Gaziantep, in southeastern Turkey in May.
They hooded him and forced him into a dark-colored van, telling him “do not speak, Greek spy.”
Ampara was then taken to a maximum security prison outside Ankara and charged with political and military espionage against Turkey on behalf of EYP.
CNN Turk had reported at the time of his arrest that he has confessed to all his espionage activities.
The sentencing of the Greek citizen is bound to further escalate tensions between Greece and Turkey.
Related: Greece – Turkey Conflicts in Modern History
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