Egypt Arrests Turkish 'Spy' Rasit Oguz as Relations with Ankara Sour

Egypt has arrested a Turkish citizen on suspicion of spying, according to security officials in Cairo.

The man was named as Rasit Oguz, a 46-year-old Turk, the state news agency MENA reported.

He was arrested taking photographs of military facilities in the city of Ismailia northeast of Cairo on 28 August, security sources said.

Oguz was also accused of collusion with the Muslim Brotherhood, according to security sources.

Turkish consular officials had visited him in custody, MENA reported.

The arrest will heighten tensions between Ankara and Cairo, which have been in crisis since July when Egypt's military stepped in to depose the president, Mohamed Morsi.

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood has close ideological ties with Turkey's ruling AK Party.

Turkey has emerged as one of the fiercest international critics of Morsi's removal, calling it an "unacceptable coup".

Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan had initially formed an alliance with Egypt's military rulers during the transitional period that followed the revolution of 2011.

But Turkey recalled its ambassador for "consultations" on 15 August following the bloody suppression of Muslim Brotherhood protests at Cairo's Rabia al-Adawiya Square.

Military exercises involving the two countries have also been suspended.

Turkey's conservative Islamic ruling party had supported Morsi - a leading Muslim Brotherhood figure - as a democratically elected leader hailing from an Islamic political movement.

It had condemned his removal by the military while also criticizing the West for what it deemed a weak response to the coup.

However, Turkey returned its ambassador, Huseyin Avni Botsali, to Cairo this week.

In spite of that, Egypt said Botsali's counterpart in Ankara would not return until the military leadership felt Turkey had ceased its "interference" in Egypt's internal affairs.

Erdogan had previously been honoured in Cairo's Tahrir Square by members of the Egyptian Revolution Youth Union, for his support in the country's revolution

Soon afterwards, Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu had outlined his vision of a strategic alliance between Egypt and Turkey which he described as an "Axis of Democracy".

But following his accession, Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour criticized Turkey's leaders, saying Turkey should focus on "Egypt and its people and not with leaders of a certain group".