Claims that Cyprus and specifically British bases serve as headquarters for intelligence and espionage services have been formally raised by a prominent British investigative journalist specialising in security issues.
Matt Kennard, who has worked for major English-language media outlets, has again highlighted the alleged presence of British and American agents operating on the island, this time citing classified documents reportedly leaked by Edward Snowden, a former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor.
Snowden, who worked as a cybersecurity consultant for the CIA and NSA until the early part of the last decade, made significant revelations in 2013 that caused global controversy and led to an international arrest warrant from U.S. authorities.
Citing documents leaked by Snowden, Kennard portrays Cyprus as a base for British and American operations in the Middle East. He details how agents allegedly operate covertly and claims they played a role in events related to Gaza.
In a post on social media platform X last Friday, the London-born journalist wrote: “Top Secret document from Britain’s largest intelligence agency (GCHQ) leaked by Edward Snowden”.
“It shows the industrial levels of US-UK spying being done from the British territory on Cyprus, which has become the key international site for facilitating Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” Kennard claimed.
“It notes that American spies class their bases on British Cyprus – there are at least 4 – as ‘important assets that make a major contribution'”.
The post also alleged that the American NSA funds 50% of the operating costs of SOUNDER, described as the spy station at Ayios Nikolaos in the Eastern Sovereign British Base of Dhekelia.
“Cyprus is not informed of the American intelligence presence as it is a violation of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment,” Kennard wrote, adding that another Snowden document allegedly notes that “US spies are told to dress as tourists when going into work on the British bases”.
“We know how the UK and US militaries have used RAF Akrotiri to supply and support the genocide in Gaza,” he wrote.
“We know nothing about how they have mobilised their spying assets on the island to support the slaughter. This is one for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ)”.
Snowden leaked highly classified documents to journalists from The Guardian and The Washington Post in June 2013.
His revelations centred on PRISM, an NSA surveillance programme allegedly collecting data from companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft without users’ knowledge.
According to reports at the time, British GCHQ worked closely with the NSA in data collection. Following the revelations, Snowden fled to Russia and received Russian citizenship in 2022.
