Maronite held as spy suspect

By Charlie Charalambous

A MARONITE man from occupied Kormakitis was arrested at the Ledra Palace checkpoint yesterday on suspicion of spying for the Turks.

Fifty-three-year-old Avgoustinos Skoullou was arrested at 8.15am yesterday after documents relating to National Guard installations and weapons systems were found in his possession as he prepared to cross to the occupied areas, police said.

He was later taken to Nicosia district court, where he was remanded in police custody for eight days on suspicion of supplying military secrets to the Turks.

The court heard that Skoullou had admitted to police that his arrest had come only minutes before he was due to deliver classified military information to a senior Turkish army officer.

But he apparently told police that he was in fact spying, not for the Turks, but for the National Guard, naming two Cyprus Intelligence Service (KYP) officers as his contacts.

Police found a four-page document in the suspect’s vehicle, written in English and referring to National Guard installations in Troodos and Paphos, the court heard.

Skoullou has apparently confessed to writing the document, police said yesterday.

The National Guard maintains an important radar system in the Troodos mountains, while the Paphos is the site of a controversial air base.

A further search of the suspect’s car and home uncovered two cameras loaded with film and a pair of binoculars, police said.

Maronites enjoy free movement between their village in the Turkish occupied areas and the free areas.

Nicosia CID are continuing their investigation.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.