{"id":11281,"date":"2026-07-21T12:56:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T09:56:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/?p=11281"},"modified":"2026-07-21T12:56:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T09:56:42","slug":"cyprus-to-extradite-45-year-old-to-uk-for-spying-on-british-bases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/cyprus-to-extradite-45-year-old-to-uk-for-spying-on-british-bases\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyprus to extradite 45-year-old to UK for spying on British Bases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rashad Sultanov<\/strong> stands accused of conducting intelligence-gathering activities at Royal Air Force facilities within the British Sovereign Base Areas, according to in-cyprus (Philenews)<\/em>. British authorities suspect the defendant of systematic surveillance at the Akrotiri Bases and the Andreas Papandreou air base in Paphos.<\/p>\n

The Attorney General of Cyprus suspended domestic criminal proceedings against Sultanov last Friday in response to a formal British extradition request. The suspect, who was already facing serious charges in Limassol Criminal Court, was immediately re-arrested under the United Kingdom’s warrant. A court hearing is scheduled today in Limassol, where Sultanov’s attorney Efstathios Efstathiou<\/strong> will present the defence’s position.<\/p>\n

Alleged Links to Iranian Intelligence Network<\/h2>\n

British investigators believe Sultanov operated as an agent for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as in-cyprus (Philenews)<\/em> reports. The allegations claim he captured visual documentation from inside British military facilities and transmitted the material to his handler, identified as Elsad Elsin Hajiyev<\/strong>, an Azerbaijani-Iranian national currently subject to an international arrest warrant.<\/p>\n

Confidential intelligence shared with Cypriot authorities reportedly identifies Hajiyev as the architect of an Iranian espionage network operating in the region, with Sultanov among several recruited operatives. British authorities further allege that Sultanov monitored and recorded the operational patterns of RAF fighter aircraft, relaying flight frequency data to his Iranian controllers.<\/p>\n

Serious Prison Term if Convicted<\/h2>\n

If extradited and convicted in Britain, Sultanov faces up to 14 years’ imprisonment. The extradition request follows a warrant issued under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement mechanism, the legal instrument Britain has employed since Brexit for cooperation with European Union member states on criminal matters.<\/p>\n

British authorities first issued the TCA warrant in early June 2025, shortly after Sultanov’s initial arrest on June 21, 2025. The case immediately drew significant attention from British intelligence services, with journalists from England traveling to Cyprus to gather information on the circumstances surrounding his detention.<\/p>\n

Why Britain Rather Than Cyprus<\/h2>\n

Questions remain about why Cypriot authorities chose to extradite Sultanov rather than prosecute him domestically, particularly since he allegedly conducted surveillance of Republic of Cyprus military installations as well. Sources familiar with the prosecuting authorities told in-cyprus (Philenews)<\/em> that the bulk of the accused espionage activity centered on the Akrotiri Bases, where British investigators believe he obtained substantial volumes of classified visual material.<\/p>\n

The United Kingdom escalated its involvement in November 2025 by requesting through Eurojust, the European Union’s criminal justice cooperation agency, the formation of a Joint Investigation Team to deepen the probe. This level of engagement underscores the seriousness with which British intelligence views the alleged breach of security at its sovereign military facilities.<\/p>\n

Defence Challenges Detention<\/h2>\n

Sultanov’s legal team is expected to mount a vigorous challenge to the extradition. Attorney Efstathios Efstathiou filed an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights on May 31, 2026, arguing that his client is unlawfully detained at Cyprus’s Central Prisons and that his case involves violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. Additional legal remedies remain pending within the Cypriot judicial system.<\/p>\n

The case highlights the strategic importance of British military installations in Cyprus and the ongoing intelligence threats facing Western facilities in the Eastern Mediterranean region.<\/p>\n

With information from in-cyprus (Philenews)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cyprus has initiated extradition proceedings to transfer British-Azerbaijani national Rashad Sultanov to the UK on espionage charges for allegedly spying on British military bases for Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":11280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[9739,9738,213,2339,9740,9737,48],"nfg_topic":[134],"class_list":["post-11281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-akrotiri","tag-british-sovereign-base-areas","tag-cyprus","tag-espionage","tag-paphos","tag-rashad-sultanov","tag-united-kingdom","nfg_topic-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11286,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11281\/revisions\/11286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11281"},{"taxonomy":"nfg_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nfg_topic?post=11281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}