Filenews 20 October 2023
A 26-year-old foreign resident of Paphos reported to the police that she was raped by two of her compatriots. The woman claims that she had an affair with one of the two, but a few days ago he kept her against her will for days in his apartment where he allegedly raped her along with his friend.
According to the 26-year-old's complaint, on October 13 she had voluntarily gone to the accommodation of a 30-year-old compatriot with whom she had an affair. Two days later, however, she claims that he took her back to his residence where he held her against her will for three days and raped her along with a second person, who had in the meantime come to the apartment.
When the woman left the 30-year-old's accommodation, she went to the Paphos Police where she reported being raped by the two persons, as well as the theft of her phone.
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Today's decision of the Supreme Court in relation to the conviction of lawyer, Panagiotis Kleovoulou, who was found guilty of attacking masked citizens at an event of left-wing organizations that took place on May 5, 2017 at CUT, is a milestone for Cypriot judicial events.
The 63-year-old lawyer after six years was sentenced on 16/6/2023 by the Limassol District Court, to various concurrent prison sentences with the longest being that of 10 months on the charge of rioting. For his part, the defendant appealed against the First Instance Decision to the Supreme Court, appealing the correctness of the conviction but also with the 10-month prison sentence imposed on him, both for its scope and its type. Today, with its decision, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction, while by a majority the sentence of the convicted lawyer was reduced to 6 months, in the offense of rioting.
The minority of the Presidents of the Supreme Court decided that it should not be diminished at all, having regard to the facts and the particular circumstances of the case. Also, the ground of appeal concerning the suspension of a prison sentence was rejected. For the first time in Cypriot judicial events, such a decision of this nature has been confirmed. It is recalled that in the conviction of the Limassol District Court, it was mentioned that "the defendant's behaviour, which resulted in feelings of insecurity in a significant number of people, the damage he inflicted on democratic values and human rights, the inherent seriousness of his illegal acts, the need for general deterrence and the complete absence of elements of remorse of the overlord outweigh any mitigating factor.
"Such behaviour has no place in a democratic society. They violate gross human rights such as freedom of thought and conscience, expression and peaceful assembly," Judge Christos Raspopoulos said in his first instance ruling. The case was handled on behalf of the Legal Service, both at first instance and before the Court of Appeal, by the public prosecutor, Panicos Avraamides.
The incident at CUT occurred on the afternoon of May 5, 2017, when about 20 masked men entered with wild moods an event organized by the "Left Movement – We want a Federation". The masked men, wielding clubs and throwing stones at the attendees, injured civilians and caused a disturbance while shouting "communes", "anti-Greeks" and "Turkish seeds".
According to the findings of the Court, Panagiotis Kleovoulou had a leading role, was at the scene without wearing a hood and moved among the masked men, while at one point he stood unperturbed and with a cold gaze in the middle of the attackers. At one point he told the masked men "stop, leave" and as they left they threw ANC leaflets. In addition to the above, the accused grabbed one of the prosecution witnesses by the neck and punched him in the face and head.
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Damage to the headquarters of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry occurred late on Thursday afternoon, following an attack by a group of unknown assailants. A complaint was filed with the Police.
In a statement, the CCCI noted that the material damage caused by the attack, which occurred late on Thursday afternoon, is worth thousands of euros.
"Such actions are no honour to anyone and do not contribute to our political culture," the statement said.
In conclusion, the CCCI informs that it has already filed a complaint with the police "and expects the matter to be investigated immediately and thoroughly".
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Authorities were alerted following a report of a man who entered a bank branch on Athalassis Avenue in Nicosia with threatening moods and caused damage. The police were immediately alerted and rushed to the scene.
Testimonies from bank employees say the man shouted "Allahu Akbar" and at one point the man took off his shirt.
Members of the Police rushed to the scene, who, with the use of spray, managed to immobilize the man, who was particularly aggressive, and handcuff him.
