The testimony of the 35-year-old secretary of the Turkish Consulate in Rhodes, Sebahattin Bayram, before the investigators today has been completed and he is now before the Public Prosecutor of Rhodes, in order to be charged.
The secretary of the Turkish Consulate did not deviate from what he had stated before the Rhodes Security Sub-Directorate, claiming once again that he is innocent and that he has nothing to do with the accusations leveled against him.
He claims that he does not know the reason why the 52-year-old cook who worked on the ship on the Rhodes-Kastelorizo route accused him of trying to build a spy network in the area, asking him to photograph Greek warships and give other sensitive information.
The Greek Muslim and secretary of the Turkish Consulate in Rhodes states in his testimony given to the Rhodes Security Sub-Directorate:
“I was born in 1985 in Komotini and grew up in the village of Sostis. In 2008 I graduated from the Department of Mathematics of the School of Sciences of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. I then served in the Greek army from August 2008 to August 2009.
“Having fulfilled my military obligations, I was employed as a teacher of mathematics while attending undergraduate courses in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Polytechnic of Polytechnic, my second degree.”
How he got the job at the Turkish Consulate
Bayram states that he had to interrupt his studies in order to take up the position at the Turkish Consulate in Rhodes.
Specifically, he says:
“In the year 2012 I interrupted my studies in order to take up the duties of secretary at the Consulate General of the Republic of Turkey in Rhodes, where I have been working since May 2012.
“Since 2013 I have been married to Arzu Kilasin and since our marriage we have had two children.
“The tasks assigned to me are those of secretarial support, interpretation and all kinds of administrative work for the operation of the consular mission.
“In particular, because I am the Secretary-General of the Consulate General, who, due to his capacity, heads the consular mission and officially represents the Republic of Turkey at all kinds of events, I am in constant and daily contact with public authorities, institutions and individuals to assist and to facilitate his work.”
His acquaintance with the cook
“I met Mehmet Nezadin recently, through social contacts and my meetings with him were of such a nature, that is, purely social and from my side friendly, as we both come from Komotini and we have common acquaintances.”
Contrary to the testimony given by the 52-year-old cook, where he states that the secretary of the Turkish consulate was the one who approached him, the latter says exactly the opposite.
“We started meeting on his own initiative on a social and friendly level and because we grew up in the same area and we are both in Rhodes.
“During the meetings, the subject of our discussions was our families, food, motorcycles, cars and of course our common concern about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In the aforementioned context, with Nezadin Mehmet, we started friendly conversations and in the context of these – but also in general – I never had any action, activity, behavior or position that according to the laws of our country would be a criminal offense.”
The telephone complaint
Bayram claims that the accusations made against him by Mehmet are false, revealing an element of the case that until now was not known.
That is, that before their arrest there had been a telephone complaint from a third person, who apparently knew about the deal between the secretary and the cook.
Specifically, the Turkish consulate worker said:
“Regarding what Nezadin Mehmet accuses me of, I state explicitly and unequivocally that I do not accept the accusations leveled against me.
“I do not know why Nezadin Mehmet has made these accusations against me, nor do I know the person who made the phone complaint.
“The information that I allegedly ‘collected’ is simple information that anyone can either collect with a simple and short internet search, or could know if they just happened to be present on any liner that was sailing to and from Kastelorizo.”
It is recalled that Sebahattin Bayram maintained a Facebook profile that promoted “independent Western Thrace”, posted nationalist Turkish symbols, and clearly stated his anti-Greek views.
