Police in Cyprus have said that National Security Act charges have been authorised against a man who was arrested on the island, in what has been described as the first overseas investigation carried out under the legislation. The move marks a significant step in a case that stretches across both Cyprus and the United Kingdom and centres on a sensitive British military base.
The individual at the centre of the case has been named as Rashad Sortanov. He is 44 years old and holds both UK and Azerbaijan nationality. According to the authorities, Sortanov was arrested in Cyprus in June, and it is that arrest that has now led to the authorisation of charges brought under the National Security Act.
At the heart of the allegations is the claim that Sortanov was involved in the surveillance of a military site. Investigators allege that he conducted hostile surveillance of the RAF Akrotiri base, the location that sits at the core of the case as it has been set out publicly by the authorities handling the investigation.
The case also involves an alleged foreign intelligence link. According to the accusations, Sortanov shared information with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, connecting the alleged surveillance activity to a foreign body. That element forms a central part of the national security concerns that have been raised around the case.
The details of the case have been set out by more than one force. According to the Metropolitan Police and police in Cyprus, the charges relate to the alleged hostile surveillance of the base and the sharing of information. The involvement of both forces reflects the cross-border nature of an investigation that spans the two countries.
Officials have framed the case as a notable first. It has been described as a man being arrested in Cyprus as part of a first overseas National Security Act investigation, underlining that the legislation is now being applied to activity said to have taken place beyond the United Kingdom, focused on the RAF Akrotiri base.