Air force officer held in Greece accused of spying for China

A Greek air force officer has been detained pending trial after appearing before a military judge. Surrounded by armed escorts, squadron leader Col Christos Flessas, 54, left court after giving testimony for more than eight hours. He faces charges including "transmitting top secret information of a military nature" to China and could face a life sentence; authorities say he had access to sensitive military information, including armed forces technologies under development, and was believed to have been recruited by Beijing last year.

Investigators allege Flessas photographed and transmitted classified Nato documents using specialised encryption software provided by Chinese intelligence and received tradecraft training in China during an undeclared trip that exposed him. In a statement after the hearing his lawyer quoted him: "Unknowingly and without intent, I became involved in something that developed in a way that became nightmarish, dangerous and illegal.

Greece

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