A 76-year-old Norwegian national has been charged with the felony of spying after he was arrested for observing and recording the movements of vessels of the Coast Guard and the Navy patrolling around the island of Lesvos with photographs and cameras.

The man will present his defence to the Mytilene Criminal Investigator on Monday on the charge of espionage.

Police apprehended the elderly foreigner last Wednesday but his arrest was not made public until he was brought before the prosecutor. Police seized the suspect’s camera, memory card, and mobile phone after a search of his hotel room in the city of Mytilene where they also found two USB memory sticks, five digital cards storage, a camera, a camera lens, an external hard drive and a laptop whose contents are being examined.

According to his lawyer, the 76-year-old is a professional photographer and director and was collecting material for a book on the “landscapes of Lesvos”.

It was revealed that he often visits Lesvos as a collaborator of an organization active in dealing with the refugee and immigration issue, while he also collaborates with the branch of the Norwegian University of Agder in central Lesvos, on whose behalf he has authored three luxury albums on nature and Island’s.