Greek Police, foreign ministry on alert after Greek policeman arrested in Turkey

Greek Police and the foreign ministry are in a state of alert after a Greek policeman on trip to the city of Edirne was arrested.

The 41-year-old police sergeant is serving in the Feres police precinct in the Greek-Turkish border area of Evros and hails from the village of Antheia.

Sources say the policemen has been arrested, possibly by the Turkish gendarmerie.

The policeman and a female companion had gone on a trip to Edirne but did not return. When his service sought him out it was ascertained that he had been arrested in Turkey.

The woman accompanying him, who is from Feres, was also arrested.

The police sergeant, according to a report of the daily Kathimerini had an open GPS and is said to have been in a forbidden border area near the Evros River. He was reportedly subjected to an emergency judicial procedure with questioning.

Greek authorities on alert

There is a high state of alert among Greek authorities that are investigating the case. Formal confirmation is awaited from the Turkish side so that details can be made public, and particularly the justification offered for the arrest.

According to the local Evros-news.gr website, the policeman had gone on a trip to Turkey via the Kipos border area but never returned.

The webpage reported that according to initial reports the Turkish side maintains that the couple were moving in a forbidden zone and that is why they were arrested.

Greek Police and the Greek foreign ministry have mobilised in order to handle the issue through the Greek diplomatic missions in Istanbul and Edirne.

Turkey has yet to provide a formal complete briefing, through the "Kapitan Andreevo" contact point, that the Greek side has requested.

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