The UK authorities are asking the Republic of Cyprus to extradite a 45-year-old prisoner in order to try him for espionage offenses against Britain.
This is Rasad Sultanov, holder of a British passport, who is already facing related charges at the Limassol Permanent Criminal Court. He was arrested last summer by the Cyprus Police, after he was allegedly accused of photographing military installations inside the Akrotiri Bases.
According to information from "F", the Legal Service of the Republic was informed of Britain's request for Sultanov's extradition last week. In fact, last Tuesday there was a set hearing for the case of the 45-year-old before the Limassol Criminal Court.
However, on the basis of the aforementioned request, the representative of the prosecution requested a postponement of the process until the issue is clarified. Thus, the process was postponed and another date was set by the three-member judicial body.
The British request
The British issued an arrest and extradition warrant, known in legal circles as TCA (Trade and Cooperation Agreement). This warrant is issued by the United Kingdom after Brexit. With this, the British are now turning to the member states of the European Union for such issues.
At this stage, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Cyprus is awaiting the necessary supporting documents from the UK authorities, which will justify the warrant.
It is obvious that the request of the Old Albion Authorities is related to the fact that Sultanov is accused of offenses allegedly, among other things, to have been committed in areas under the jurisdiction of the Akrotiri Bases. They believe, in simple words, that espionage took place on British soil at the expense of their interests.
That is why this development is of additional interest, as it arises at a time when the status of the Bases, on the occasion of the crisis in the Middle East, is of concern to the Cypriot government. This, i.e. the concern about the degree of involvement of the Bases in military operations and the political processes for the regime on our island, have been recorded in a recent report by Politico (31/5/26).
They wanted a joint investigation
However, from the first moment that Sultanov's arrest emerged in the Republic, the British have shown a strong interest in the case. We are not referring only to the descent of journalists from England shortly after his arrest on 21/6/25.
As revealed by "F" last November (6/11/25), the United Kingdom, through the European Union Agency for Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters (Eurojust), appealed to the Republic of Cyprus requesting the establishment of a Joint Investigation Team to further investigate the case.
This development leaves no doubt as to the interest of British intelligence services in the case.
The wanted Hadjiyev
There are other facts that make the case with Sultanov special. Data that were put before "F" during the journalistic investigation of related cases, reveal that the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus have received confidential information that Sultanov is acting on behalf of the Azero-Iranian, Elshad Elchin Hajiyev.
They believe that the latter is the "mastermind" of a ring that acts to obtain information on behalf of Iran and that he has recruited a number of agents, including Sultanov.
In fact, Elsad Elsin Hadjiyev allegedly had recruited the couple arrested in Cyprus on February 26 (2026) according to information obtained by the Cyprus Police. The reason for a 28-year-old Azeri and a 27-year-old Estonian, who were suspected of photographing points of Israeli interests in Paphos.
Confidential information from the Cypriot authorities stated that there was a belief that the couple was operated by Elsad Elsin Hadjiyev, who allegedly organized the trip of the aforementioned to Cyprus.
"Spies of Iran"
As "F" finds out through international publications, the name of Elsad Elshin Hajiyev, who is presented as the "operator" of the 45-year-old, became public at the end of the last decade. The Azerbaijani authorities, after an investigation, came up with a number of Azeri citizens who had been recruited by Iran.
A relevant announcement was issued in November 2022 by a competent agency of the country: "The State Security Service conducts extensive investigative measures in relation to cases of secret involvement of Azeri citizens by the Iranian special services in military exercises outside the country, financing and directing their activities, as well as keeping them in the sphere of influence through blackmail and other violent methods, for the purpose of using them against the interests of the state security of Azerbaijan.
In the course of operational investigations, it was established that the leadership of an illegal armed organization, consisting of citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan and which had been secretly formed under the control of the Iranian special services through ideological indoctrination with radical extremist religious ideas, was entrusted to Tohid Alim oglu Ibrahimbayli, Rovshan Elchin oglu Asadov, Orkhan Kamran oglu Mammadov, Elshad Elchin oglu Hajiyev (Akram Hajizade) and others, who were detained for similar crimes in 2018 by a court order. They have been placed on an international wanted list and are currently hiding in Iran."
He appealed to the ECtHR through Efstathios
According to a report by "F" on 31/5/2026, the 45-year-old Sultanov, through his lawyer, Efstathios Efstathiou, appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Sultanov's defense considers that the 45-year-old is illegally detained in the Central Prison and that in his case there were violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The application states that the Police, when they had brought the 45-year-old to court, as part of a request for his detention, had stated that they had secured classified information from a foreign service that brought the suspect to maintain contacts with members of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), to have information in relation to military installations in Cyprus and to plan a terrorist attack.
The position of the accused is that this information was not disclosed to him, just as it was not disclosed to the Court either. As explained, its origin has not been documented, it has not been explained whether it comes from a Member State of the European Union or from a third country, nor has evidence been submitted to show whether it was lawful to collect, process and transmit it.
Sultanov faces a number of terrorism offenses. He allegedly had special equipment and photographed the British bases of Akrotiri, where the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom is based, as well as the "Andreas Papandreou" air base. He was also alleged to have sent unknown files encrypted, with investigators' information stating that he was sending the photos to another person who was his liaison and possibly related to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
