Filenews 8 July 2023
An Israeli director of a company active in land development made a complaint to the ICF of Limassol for extorting money under false information from a Lebanese political refugee.
Specifically, according to the complaint, the director of the company complained that the suspect presented himself as a proxy representative of an apartment owner in Limassol and after presenting him with a power of attorney, they proceeded to an agreement for the sale of an apartment worth €280,000.
According to the complainant, while she paid the first €110,000, then the owner of the apartment went to the ICF of Limassol, stating that she signed a power of attorney not for sale but for the management of the apartment.
The director of the company was informed by the owner's lawyer that the power of attorney presented to him by the Lebanese was forged and the agreement he signed was invalid, while an arrest warrant was issued against the suspect and he is wanted.
* * * * * *
Two arrests and three police officers slightly injured were the result of incidents that occurred at dawn today in Nicosia.
According to an announcement by the communication branch of the Police, at around 1.15 a.m. on Saturday, information was received by the Police about loud music at a sports club in Nicosia and a member of the Police went to the specific point to check the information, where he found about 40 people, moving threateningly towards him and insulting him.
It is added that reinforcements were immediately called to the scene and that upon the arrival of the police, the above persons started throwing stones, bottles and other objects at them.
It is further reported that the members of the Police reacted, resulting in the end of the whole incident and the arrest of two persons, aged 24 and 32, for flagrant offenses.
It is also reported that three police officers were injured in the incident, who visited Nicosia General Hospital, where it was found that two had various abrasions, while the third suffered a fractured nasal bone.
The Nicosia Central Police Station is investigating the case.
CNA
* * * * * *
Filenews 9 July 2023
An incident occurred at a well-known beach bar in Ayia Napa on Saturday afternoon, when two masked men forcibly grabbed a man from a sunbed, causing disturbance to patrons, with police investigating an assault and attempted kidnapping.
According to initial information, two masked men entered a beach, located near the port of Ayia Napa, and forcibly grabbed a person, who was on a sunbed, carrying him out of the premises.
They then beat the man and threw him to the ground, but he managed to escape.
The Police were informed about the incident and rushed to the scene to take statements.
The incident is under investigation by the authorities, while as we are informed the complainant is from Nicosia and is professionally active in Ayia Napa.
* * * * * *
A bomb explosion at the home of a 47-year-old farmer occurred around 3.40 in the morning, in Limassol.
According to police, the explosion came from an improvised metal object of low power, which was accompanied by flammable liquid material and had been placed at the entrance of the farmer's house in the area of Agios Ioannis.
Members of the Police, a pyrotechnic technician of the Limassol Police Authority and members of the Fire Brigade rushed to the scene as a fire broke out due to the explosion, which caused slight damage to the glass entrance of a veranda, as well as to an adjacent car.
The scene was cordoned off and searches resumed at first light of day.
The 47-year-old Greek Cypriot said he did not suspect anyone.
* * * * * *
A dark landscape of deceit, lies, threats, intimidation, mental and physical violence and ultimately sexual exploitation of an 18-year-old high school student, surrounds the case of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation of a minor victim, for which three Romanian residents of Cyprus were sentenced to prison sentences on June 30, 2023 by the Permanent Assize Court in Nicosia, for offences related to trafficking in persons and others included in the penal code.
The case was investigated by the Anti-Trafficking Office of the Police and the Nicosia Crime Detection Department.
One of the three, 38-year-old defendant 3, married and father of two minor children, a construction worker, was sentenced to 3 years in prison for the use of services of a sexual nature by a victim of human trafficking and this is the first case of conviction of a client in a human trafficking case in Cyprus. His conviction was based on the article of the relevant law of 2014 amended in 2019 that criminalizes the use of services of a sexual nature, by a victim of trafficking in persons, whether or not the accused knew that he or she was a victim.
The first of the three, 36-year-old defendant 1, married and father of three minor children, was sentenced to 6 years in prison for sexual exploitation of a child, sexual exploitation of an adult, withholding of personal documents, rape, attempted rape, pimping and economic violence. The last charge, economic violence, according to the court's reasoning, is based on the fact that "while defendant 1 was the partner of the complainant, who was financially dependent on him, he deprived her of the necessary financial means in order to force her to perform a sexual act with another person, in return for payment".
We note that last Tuesday, July 4, 2023, the representative of the Legal Service, Christia Kythreotou, who handled the case for the Attorney General, filed an appeal with the Nicosia District Court, stating as "manifestly inadequate" the sentences of 6 and 5 years (concurrent) in the offences for sexual exploitation of a child and sexual exploitation of an adult imposed on defendant 1.
The 37-year-old defendant 2, who was friends with defendant 1 and worked together in construction, was sentenced to 4 months in prison, for threatening. Specifically, he sent a text message to the complainant on December 5, 2021 that he would "kill her and tear her to pieces so that they would not find her".
According to the court, "defendant 2 was furious because the complainant was not answering his calls." The sentences of defendants 1 and 2 are reduced during the 13 months they have been in custody since 28 December 2021. On 5 December 2021, the girl was identified by the GEP as a victim of human trafficking. She was initially housed in the shelter for women victims of domestic violence of the Association for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family (SPAVO), before being transferred by the Police for accommodation in the state shelter for women victims of trafficking.
According to the court, "she was already pregnant at the time and had already undergone the process of trafficking and exploitation." The now 19-year-old girl has a one-year-old child (she gave birth in June 2022) "which she conceived during her stay in Nicosia where she was transferred by accused 1", according to the court. A ray of light in this grim case is the fact that the girl, despite the huge problems she faced, managed with the help of state and non-governmental bodies to graduate from high school and continues with studies at a private university. Of crucial importance for her release from the exploitation circuit was the intervention and interest shown by the management and teachers of her school in Larnaka. The case is certainly an example of successful handling in investigating a trafficking case and in supporting the victim by the police, in cooperation with state agencies and non-governmental organisations.
The "lover boy" was a trafficker...
We note that the commission of the offences in this case began in early September 2021 when the girl was a minor senior high school student – she had not reached the age of 18 – and was persuaded by accused 1 and his false promises to leave her home in a community of Famagusta district and her school in Larnaca and leave with him to Nicosia.
Among other things, the following are mentioned in the multi-page decision of the Nicosia Assize Court issued a few days ago on June 28, 2023: "Afflicted by unfortunate parental relationships, deprived of paternal or other similar affection, regularly changing accommodation, school and friends, ended up an angry 18-year-old girl, who reacted towards her mother and any of her environment, wanting to make her own mistakes. The point is that on the way, she didn't just encounter her own behaviors and her own faults. She claimed that she was confronted with reprehensible conduct by various people, in particular the accused, in the five weeks between the day she got into defendant 1's vehicle to bring her to Nicosia (9 September 2021), until the day she re-entered to return her to Larnaca (16 October 2021)".
The perpetrator apparently used the "lover boy" method of deception that some traffickers are used to and... He played the man in love with his vulnerable victim.
According to the court's decision, "defendant 1 had sexual relations with the complainant from September 3, 2021 until at least October 3, 2021, inclusive, when she had sex with defendant 2. Regardless of any other purpose he had in mind for the complainant, accused 1 presented her everywhere as his mistress. They did not live together, but they moved around together, especially in the early days. The settlement between them, even before she was transferred to Nicosia, was that defendant 1 would find her a place to live and work and support her financially until she secured her own income. We are of the opinion that in the circumstances in which he transferred her, namely a minor whom he promised accommodation, work and financial support until she had her own income, she was his financially dependent partner.
Most importantly, she cannot fail to realise that from about mid-September onwards, she fell into a state of poverty, which did not even allow her to eat normally and as a human being, despite the support she had from defendant 2. It is no coincidence that when prosecution witness 8 saw her on October 1, 2021, she found her weak and distressed. But as we have already said, defendant 1 had his purpose, which remained constant. The financial difficulties and the deprivation of the necessary means of subsistence would force the complainant to succumb to his constant urges for prostitution, which was the ultimate goal. She relied on his promises and already began to harbor erotic feelings for him."
Despair, poverty and malnutrition
The court's decision added: "Instead of defendant 1 fulfilling his promises, his conduct deprived the complainant of the necessary financial means in order to force her into prostitution. It did not help her, as promised, to transfer to school in Nicosia.
He moved her from house to house, which belonged to his friends and acquaintances, including a woman who, like him, tried to persuade her to prostitute. At the same time, he did not take her to the hospital when she needed to, despite all her pleas, and instead took her to a casino. Since September 30, 2021, when he persistently asked for a doctor, he only took it on October 4, 2021 when he was already experiencing hematuria, fever and urinary tract infection. In the end, the complainant did indeed prostitute, fortunately only once (on October 2, 2021) and when she had reached adulthood. This was because she was in such a desperate financial situation that she was malnourished and the 350 euros she had, from her part-time employment in a restaurant in Larnaca, ended. Even what she received from the sale of her cross was finished, a sign of despair and poverty. Defendant 1 did not even hesitate to attack her and threaten to kill her on 4 October 2021 outside the first aid room at Nicosia Hospital, apparently because he was jealous that the complainant had, after he "sold" her as she put it, had an affair with defendant 2".
At this point it is noted that during cross-examination by the lawyer of one of the accused, the complainant admitted that she had had sex with accused 2 "because she was his girlfriend". She added that defendants 1 and 2 "had her like a ball between them" but acknowledged that defendant 2 "generally respected her, except for the hours she got away because of alcohol. The love affair – he said – arose afterwards, when they lived in the same apartment building (in Engomi)." The court's decision states that "fortunately some days later, the complainant's friend, the prosecution witness 8, provided her with accommodation in her own house in the district of Larnaka, since she had no option to return to her mother's house due to the bad relationship between them. Returning to Larnaca and to her school, she received some support from teachers at her school, to whom she revealed that from her adventure in Nicosia she became pregnant."
It is worth mentioning that the statement given to the Police by the Assistant Principal and the school's Counselling teacher about her case was very important, confirming among other things that at the beginning of that school year the girl attended school for only three days, on 7, 8 and 9 September 2021, when she told them that she would move to Nicosia and continue in school there. Indeed, the countdown for the investigation of the case, the prosecution of the perpetrators and the release and support of the victim, began when on November 11, 2021, a report was made to the Police from her school, where she had returned on October 18, 2021 and concerns were expressed about her prolonged absence from school, anxiety attacks, sudden weight loss and the revelation to her teachers that she was pregnant.
He left money on the bedside table and left...
In her testimony before the Assize Court, the complainant described the day of her prostitution by defendant 1, with defendant 3 as her client.
As stated in the court ruling, "what began consensually, and as oral sex, ended non-consensually, and as vaginal sex without a condom. While the complainant had made it clear that she did not consent to unprotected vaginal sex, Defendant 3 used as much force as was necessary to break the complainant's resistance and raped her while she was in pain, crying and screaming. Until in the end, she surrendered." The girl stated in her testimony that "after a while, the door of my apartment started knocking and I realized that the one who was knocking was defendant 1 and then only the customer (accused 3) got dressed, left 50 euros on the bedside table and left. After opening the door and leaving, defendant 1 walked in."
What preceded this appointment is described as follows in the court's decision: "It was our finding that Defendant 3 sought through Prosecution Witness 4 and received her telephone number, which Prosecution Witness 4 had previously obtained from Defendant 1 along with details of the services she would provide and the cost thereof. After calling her on the telephone, they met, where, in fact, defendant 3 received oral sex services from her in exchange for the sum of EUR 50, which he paid her and part of which, ended up with defendant 1. What is alleged herein is that accused 3 was unaware that the complainant was a victim. However, according to the aforementioned section 19(a), the fact that he did not know that the complainant from whom he received services of a sexual nature was a person who was subjected to the process of trafficking and/or exploitation, does not constitute a defence."
The court's ruling states that "it has been established that the complainant took actions that she would not have done voluntarily or spontaneously and that while previously one could have attributed to her that she had easy sex after meeting someone, when she met defendant 1 and because of her feelings towards him, He respected that they had an affair, avoiding any love affair with anyone else. It is very clear that he would not have had sex for remuneration if Defendant 1 had not taken all the actions mentioned in category 2. The complainant had neither previously prostituted herself nor had such an intention on her own. The only reason why she agreed to prostitute herself was the conduct and action of defendant 1, with an unknown client, whom the defendant had identified.
Multidisciplinary and victim-centred approach
"The case is one of the most serious investigated by the Office for Combating Trafficking in Persons in cooperation with the ICF of Nicosia, due to the age of the victim, his specific needs and the conviction for the first time under Article 17A for the criminalization of the use of services of a sexual nature by a victim of trafficking in persons, regardless of the "knowingly", the head of the General Staff Lieutenant Eleni Michael told "F" and added:
"During the investigation, due to the individualized assessment of the victim and his personal needs, since she was a student, there was an exemplary cooperation between all the actors involved. As a result of this cooperation, the victim was properly supported and gave his testimony before the Assize Court, a year and a half after the initial report to the Police.
It is one of the cases where the multidisciplinary and victim-centred approach has been applied to the maximum extent and all police officers and officers were sensitized, there was sequence, unanimity and complementarity in all our actions. In addition to the difficulties that existed during the investigation of the case, there was also interference in the judicial process on the part of one of the defendants (i.e. an attempt to influence the complainant to withdraw the charges against him), resulting in the investigation of a second case, which is under trial before the District Court.
Officers of the non-governmental organizations SPAVO and Cyprus Stop Trafficking, the Social Welfare Services, the Mental Health Services, the Ministry of Education, the Legal Service, the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, organized groups of society and the Police, all in their own way contributed to this successful outcome of the case and the conviction of the perpetrators with the detailed and justified decision of the Nicosia Assize Court. However, a decisive and central role was played by the victim himself, being conscious, despite the practical difficulties, of giving his testimony before the Court. He is an example for all of us of will, fighting spirit and love for life."
*For the record, we mention that the case was heard for the Assize Court of Nicosia by Charalambos Charalambous President District Court, Natia Mathikoloni Senior District Judge and Maria Loizou District Judge. For the Prosecution (Attorney General) the Senior Lawyer of the Republic Christia Kythreotou was presented, while lawyers for defendant 1 were Andros Anastasiou, for defendant 2 Stelios Avgoustis and for defendant 3 Robert Vrahimis.
