For more than eight hours yesterday, the 54-year-old Wing Commander appeared before military justice, after confessing to espionage on behalf of China, sending shockwaves through the Hellenic Armed Forces. Admitting his actions, the 54-year-old was ordered into pretrial detention and, after the Air Force Court, was transferred to Corinth, although the most difficult consequences still lie ahead for him — something he now appears to be realizing.

The “keys” of the testimony

Asking forgiveness from “my country, the armed forces, my colleagues, and my family,” as he stated, the arrested spy requested in a written statement to be punished “with a fair and reasonable sentence,” as the consequences of his actions are now multiple.

On the one hand, he faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years; more importantly, however, he may become the first officer to experience the revocation of citizenship, as provided for in the omnibus bill of the Ministry of National Defense that was passed earlier this year. For this reason, military sources estimate that his apology was also directed toward the “country.” He denied any involvement of other colleagues in the case, although investigations are continuing at the Pentagon, as the spy served as a department head at the Hellenic Air Force General Staff.

At the same time, investigations are ongoing into the 54-year-old’s computers and other electronic devices. The wing commander admitted his actions and claimed that he became involved “unknowingly and without intent,” as reported by ERT. Nevertheless, in his testimony he spoke of “peculiar, extremely dangerous, and unmanageable circumstances,” while revealing the identities of three individuals who approached him, first among them “Steven Wayne.” He also named two other people who presented themselves as company executives, with authorities now focusing on clarifying their roles.

He also claimed that his initial approach came via LinkedIn, asserting that his first contacts with the Chinese network were made under a professional pretext — namely through an approach by a private company based in Malaysia. Moreover, the fact that the amounts of money identified so far were not large enough to raise suspicions of espionage has caused surprise among Armed Forces officials, with investigations also focusing on the exact method and total amount of payments to the wing commander.

The wing commander’s statement in full

The defendant’s lawyer, Vassilis Cheirdaris, read out his statement, in which he assumes full responsibility for his actions without seeking excuses:

“Unknowingly and without intent, I initially became involved in something that developed in a threatening, dangerous, and illegal manner. In my testimony, I did not attempt to justify myself, nor in fact even to defend myself.

From the outset, I placed myself at the disposal of my service and of justice, with the sole aim of facilitating their work in the search for the truth, which, in this case, is the result of the peculiar, extremely dangerous, and unmanageable circumstances in which I found myself, which led to the acts for which I am accused.

I sincerely ask forgiveness from my country, the armed forces, my colleagues, and my family. Having absolute trust in military justice, I ask to be punished with a fair and reasonable sentence.”