Pafos Live 15 November 2024
A car stolen overnight was found in the morning at Paphos cemetery. The attackers, unknown if they were injured, abandoned the vehicle and disappeared.
The accident occurred at the back of the cemetery and the collision damaged two graves.
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Students have again dismantled OSYPA buses that transport them comfortably and safely from their homes to their schools.
This is not the first time that students have committed such vandalism. Today they tore the curtains and upholstery of the seats, while some of them lifted the seats from their position. The case has been reported to the police.
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A new major police operation was organized last night by the leadership of the Pafos police department. In this case too, it was headed by Pafos Police Director Kleitos Erotokritou. There were arrests and searches of vehicles and premises and several complaints emerged.
The vehicle chase on Agapinoros Avenue and the firing of shots to achieve the arrest of the vehicle stand out. A collision with police cars preceded but eventually two people were arrested for possession of drugs and a large amount of money.
Update Pafos Press:
Two arrests were made last night after a chase and shots were fired by the Police in Paphos, related to a case of illegal possession of drugs, driving under the influence of drugs and reckless and dangerous driving.
According to the Spokesperson of the Communication Branch of the Police Headquarters, at 21:00 on Thursday, while members of the Paphos Police Department were in a coordinated operation to check suspicious persons and vehicles in Paphos, they spotted a suspicious vehicle parked with the engine running and two occupants.
The members of the Paphos Police Department approached the vehicle and signalled to the driver to check it, however, as soon as he realized the presence of the Police, he allegedly moved the vehicle and in his attempt to escape, collided with two official vehicles in succession, endangering the members of the Police who got out of the vehicles to check.
The driver, according to the Police, managed to escape "driving recklessly and dangerously" on various roads in Paphos and entered a dirt road where he collided with a stationary vehicle and came to a standstill. "During the attempt to stop the vehicle, three shots were fired at the tires of the vehicle," the Police report.
The two persons inside the vehicle were subsequently stopped and as it was established, they are a 25-year-old and a 20-year-old. A search of the vehicle followed where a quantity of cannabis weighing approximately 3 grams, a hand-made half-smoked cigarette of 6.5 cm with traces of cannabis, a precision scale with traces of cannabis and the sum of €4,630 were allegedly found.
The two persons were subsequently arrested for apparent offences. According to the Police, the driver of the vehicle underwent a preliminary drug test with a positive result.
It is noted that as part of the operation, vehicles were stopped and buildings were searched and several complaints were made.
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A Greek Cypriot continued to receive the pension and benefits of his deceased mother, since he did not declare her death.
As reported by the employee of the Benefits Management Service, Christos Diomidos, the woman lived abroad and it was difficult to locate her.
"Only if we are informed by a relative can we stop the benefits. Overpayments have been detected and are a frequent phenomenon," he stressed.
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Filenews
A 46-year-old Vietnamese man was sentenced to 41 weeks in prison for causing actual bodily grievous harm by the Dhekelia British Bases court.
According to a statement by the British Bases, the man was arrested on August 22 for seriously injuring a colleague while working in a field in the Trachoni-Ypsonas area, and was detained until trial.
The woman, also Vietnamese, suffered a ruptured spleen and broken ribs and was hospitalized at Limassol Hospital for five days.
BB Lieutenant Antonis Demetriou who leads the protection of vulnerable people, said: "This was treated as a serious incident, a detailed investigation was carried out and the desired result was achieved.
"Violence against women is a global concern and this result shows the dedication and commitment of BB police to identify such crimes and bring such offenders to justice."
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The 16-year-old who was allegedly driving the stolen vehicle, which was involved in an accident, which resulted in the fatal injury of Giulia Mihaela Vasile, 18 years old, from Romania, permanent resident of Cyprus, was located and arrested by the Police.
He is a minor from Palestine, a recognized refugee, who faces offences of causing death by negligence, negligent driving, driving without a driver's license and leaving the scene of a road traffic collision without assistance. The 20-year-old co-driver of the car is also wanted in the case.
The two suspects disappeared on foot after the fatal car crash on Artemis Avenue in Larnaca. The crash occurred at 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday.
Under circumstances that are being investigated, the vehicle, in which the four were occupying, deviated from its course and moved on the pavement. He then collided with a traffic sign and a tree, while immobilizing a second tree on the pavement.
As for the fourth person in the vehicle, an 18-year-old from Jordan, he was brought before the Larnaca District Court, which ordered his eight-day detention.
The car was stolen yesterday afternoon from an area of Larnaka. It is noted that those arrested have previously been employed by the Larnaka Police for misconduct.
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The Police arrested a 34-year-old man today, as part of an investigation into a case of car arson committed on 12/11/2024 in Limassol.
According to a police briefing, the 34-year-old was arrested on the basis of a court warrant and he was detained with the ICF Limassol continuing its examinations around the case.
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The arrest of a 43-year-old foreigner for drug possession was carried out last night by the members of the Limassol OPE.
Specifically, last night and around 22:40, while members of the Limassol OPE were on motorized patrol to prevent burglaries and thefts on Kalavryton Street in Limassol, they noticed several suspicious persons, who were wearing sweatshirts and with their heads bowed were walking on the pavement.
One of them, who was later identified as a 43-year-old foreigner, as soon as he noticed the members of the OPE, stopped, turned back on his path and tried to escape. After the beacons of the police vehicle were put into operation, the members of the Limassol OPE disembarked from their vehicle and intercepted the suspect.
Before the 43-year-old was stopped, he was seen throwing something on the ground that was later found to be a transparent zip lock bag, containing a quantity of white crystal methamphetamine substance, weighing about 20 grams and was therefore arrested for a flagrant offence.
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The ICF of Limassol proceeded to the arrest of a 24-year-old man in connection with the robbery case that occurred in the area of Kapsalos, where a group of 7 young people attacked a food distributor and stole his motorcycle. A court warrant was pending against the 24-year-old suspect.
According to the complaint of the 23-year-old delivery man and student, who works legally in the Republic, the attack happened on October 30, around 9:20 p.m. The young man was on his way to deliver an order in the Kapsalos area when a group of 7 youths, aged about 18-20, stopped him.
The assailants attacked him, hitting him with their hands and feet. The 23-year-old delivery man was forced to flee, leaving behind his motorcycle, worth €1,500, which the perpetrators stole.
Immediately after the incident, the distributor went to Agios Ioannis Police Station to report the incident. Members of the ICF and the Limassol OPE immediately rushed to the scene, who proceeded to on-site investigations to identify the perpetrators.
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The 20-year-old suspect who was arrested on Wednesday in the square of the Town Hall of Mesa Geitonia, having in his possession bags of cannabis which he sold to other youths, is not cooperating with the investigators of YKAN Limassol. The young man was brought before the Limassol Court yesterday morning and detained for 8 days.
As Filenews learns, he is a well-known person in YKAN since he has been involved in similar cases in the past. The suspect, being questioned at the YKAN offices, remained silent and did not answer any of the investigators' questions. It should be noted that the second young man who was located and arrested at the scene, admitted that earlier he had bought a small amount of drugs from the suspect for the amount of €5.
It is recalled that at around 19:20 last night, members of the Limassol YKAN after evaluating information received about drug trafficking from a young person riding a motorcycle, went to the square of the Town Hall of Mesa Geitonia where they found five people sitting on a bench. Three of the five youths fled as soon as they noticed the police.
Members of the Police followed these persons and managed to stop the suspect. During the arrest of the 20-year-old, a nylon bag, containing cannabis, weighing about 30 grams, fell on the ground. Subsequently, a search was carried out where 7 nylon packages, containing cannabis, weighing 155 grams, were found in his possession and seized. The sum of €3,045 and a mobile phone were also found in his possession and confiscated.
A quantity of cannabis of about half a gram was also found in the possession of a second young man, who had remained at the scene. The second was arrested for a flagrant offence, taken to the offices of the YKAN where he was interrogated in writing and released without charge, pending scientific examinations. Under questioning, he admitted that he had bought the drugs for the sum of €5.
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The Larnaka Assize Court sentenced yesterday two persons, aged 38 and 27, to prison terms of eight (8) and nine (9) years respectively, for a drug possession case.
According to a police statement, the case arose following a search conducted by YKAN at the home of the first defendant on March 25, 2023 in Larnaca, where 1.5 kg of cannabis resin and 1,700 grams of cannabis were found.
The second defendant was linked in the case by scientific testimony to the evidence as well as to other incidental testimonies.
The 27-year-old defendant has previous convictions and at the same time a suspended prison sentence of 333 days was activated for the same offenses in violation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law.
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Narcotics were found in the possession of an inmate in the Central Prison, following an investigation conducted by the staff of the Department.
In a statement, the Department of Prisons states that today, Thursday, November 14, 2024, in a search conducted by a member of the staff of the Department of Prisons on a prisoner after the end of his visit, narcotic substances were found in his possession, which were confiscated and handed over to the Anti-Narcotics Service (YKAN) for further investigation and clarification of the case.
The Directorate of the Department of Prisons, in the context of its policy to combat organized crime and corruption within the Penitentiary, has taken a series of measures, which seem to be paying off, it added.
"The readiness and responsiveness of the Prison Guards to their particular duties, as well as their compliance with the new measures and instructions of the Directorate, are remarkable and confirm the commitment of the Directorate of the Department to society to maintain security and order in the Prisons. The efforts are continuous and intensive."
Finally, it is emphasized that the importation or attempt to import into the Department of Prisons any prohibited articles or substances constitutes a criminal offense, which carries a prison sentence of up to one year.
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A human adventure has been revealed in court behind the arrest of a 36-year-old Iranian man in the summer with a fake Spanish passport while checking in at the new port of Limassol, where he was due to travel by boat to Piraeus.
The 36-year-old pleaded guilty to the charges he was facing and today the judge of the Limassol District Court, Theodoros Symeonides, was called to impose a sentence on the accused. After the facts of the case were put before him, the 36-year-old's defense lawyer, Elina Machtavi, referred to her client's personal circumstances regarding the mitigation of his sentence.
He said the accused fled the Islamic Republic of Iran for fear of persecution as he took part in anti-regime protests in his country following the death of Mahsa Amini. Participants were arrested and imprisoned and given the death penalty by hanging. He said the defendant was one of the suspects taking part in the protest in Iran and had disseminated material to the media on the basis of which he had been identified by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and was wanted. That was why, he claimed, he was forced to flee in order to go to Germany, where his family is located. He claimed, among other things, that he paid a smuggler the amount of €15,000 to go to Germany, however, he ended up in Cyprus, as he said it is the easiest route to go to another country.
The lawyer argued that he had been given the fake passport and identity card in Cyprus. He also noted that the 36-year-old realizes his mistake and has applied for asylum with his real details. He apologized for his action and explained the facts.
In its decision, the Court took into account the defendant's clean criminal record, his young age and that he cooperated with the investigating authorities. It was also underlined that this is a special case, but the increase in offences underlines the need for dissuasive penalties. The reason which led the accused to commit the offences in question was also taken into account.
It was underlined that the 36-year-old did not intend to harm any citizen of the Republic of Cyprus, however, due to the seriousness of the offences, but also in order not to send wrong messages to other would-be offenders, concurrent prison sentences of 6 months were imposed on the charges of circulation of a false document, passport and identity card and 2 months on the offence of impersonation. Sentences will count from the day he was detained.
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He disrespected the fact that he was at a training stage, even wearing a police uniform, and sexually harassed a colleague. The reason is a 32-year-old constable who was found guilty by the Nicosia District Court as he was accused of sexually harassing a colleague during the years 2018 and 2019 and while training at the Cyprus Police Academy.
The defendant was facing charges of indecent assault against a woman, sexual harassment in violation of articles 2, 4, 12 (1) and 30 (1) of the Equal Treatment of Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training Law 205(I)/2002 and two counts of common assault.
The case went to a hearing with the defendant not admitting to any of the four charges he faced. During the hearing, 11 prosecution witnesses, all police officers, were called and testified. At the conclusion of the case, the Court ruled that the case against the defendant had been proven, which called for an apology with the latter choosing the right to remain silent.
As Filenews is authoritatively informed, the Nicosia District Court last Monday found the defendant guilty on all four charges he faced. The prosecution, represented by public prosecutor Elena Constantinou, managed to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in all the charges the 32-year-old faced.
It is noted that at the hearing a sergeant major was called to testify, to whom the complainant had spoken about the sexual harassment she suffered at the hands of the accused. The witness, however, when called to testify, told the court that he did not remember exactly when the conversation with the victim took place, while denying that the latter had told him that the 32-year-old defendant had committed an indecent assault on her during a break.
As noted in the court's decision, the position of sergeant major is contradicted by the testimony of the complainant. The Court stresses that "it would be absurd on the part of the complainant to make such an allegation if it were not true". The case was set for events and sentencing next month.
After the imposition of a sentence, the disciplinary prosecution of the accused from the ranks of the police is also expected.
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The Fire Brigade was mobilized at dawn due to a fire that broke out in a residential parking lot in the Nicosia district.
According to the Spokesman of the Fire Service, Andreas Kettis, shortly after 01:00 a fire broke out in parked vehicles of a house in Akaki. The fire caused extensive damage, while the fire spread to two rooms in the basement of the house, causing serious material damage.
The smoke affected the entire paint of the basement as well as interior spaces and part of the exterior of the house. The members of the Force intervened immediately to extinguish the fire using breathing apparatus and water pipe installations.
Conviction of arson of vehicles and house of a member of the Department of Customs and Excise by night walkers
In a statement, the Directorate of the Department of Customs and Excise condemns with abomination and abhorrence any malicious action against members of its staff, which aims to create a climate of terrorism and prevent the necessary customs controls from being carried out.
The Department of Customs and Excise as a public organization has as its main mission the safeguarding of public revenues and the protection of citizens and the supply chain. The performance of the duties performed by its staff is based on EU and National Legislation and is carried out exclusively within the framework of legality. Officers perform their duties on the basis of specific instructions and guidelines deriving from the legislation without discrimination and under no circumstances should they be targeted because of their official decisions and actions.
The heinous act of some night walkers will in no way break the Department's determination to investigate every case of smuggling and evasion of statutory duties and taxes.
We call on all competent bodies, trading partners and ordinary citizens to become fellow travellers in our effort to combat any illegality.
Conviction of criminal act against a colleague of the Department of Customs and Excise
The Customs Officers Section of PASYDY condemns with abomination and abhorrence the arson of a colleague's home and vehicles, an action that took place today during the morning hours and expresses its full support and solidarity.
The colleague, who belongs to the senior executives of the administration of the Department, is characterized throughout his professional career by a high sense of responsibility, honesty and conscientiousness in the performance of his duties. And it is for this very reason that it has manifestly been targeted by criminal elements and brazen perpetrators who have seen their unlawful plans obstructed.
This shameful and reprehensible action is directed not only against our colleague, but also against all staff and is an attack on the principles of law and order and democracy in general.
As a Branch, we want to send a clear message to all recipients that these criminal actions do not intimidate us and that we will continue to carry out our difficult work with even greater zeal and determination, despite all the chronic shortcomings and pathogens and despite any threats and intimidation.
The Branch appeals to all the staff of the Department to continue undistracted and determined to perform its role and mission to protect the safety of citizens and safeguard the interests of the State.
At the same time, as a Branch, we expect the state to address the long-standing problems faced by the staff of the Department with the aim of their rapid regulation and resolution and to make every effort to arrest and bring the perpetrators of arson to justice, aiming at their exemplary punishment.
Concluding, as the Board of Directors of the Branch, in a sign of practical support to the colleague, calls the staff of the Department to a work stoppage today from 12.00 p.m. until 12.30 p.m. and at the same time declares its determination to promote any further measures needed.
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Cyprus Mail
A case has been filed with the independent police complaints authority regarding a Somali woman who reported she had been mistreated and suffered racist behaviour at the hands of police officers in Nicosia, it emerged on Friday.
Head of migrant and refugee watchdog Kisa, Doros Polykarpou, speaking to CyBC, accused authorities of dragging their heels in investigating the complaint.
Polykarpou said the woman had been taken in and held by police after she was attacked under the assumption she was drunk, although as she explained she is a practicing Muslim.
Instead of helping her calm down as the victim of an attack, the police chose to take the word of two Greek Cypriots at the scene [the alleged attackers] and talk in Greek, he said.
“We have tried to speak for two days with the police in an earnest effort to make sure all the facts were known by them, and we encountered a wall,” Polykarpou added.
According to Kisa, the woman’s case has been handled badly even after she visited the hospital with her husband the next day, whereupon the treating doctor certified her injuries as a result of violence, and counselled her to get a referral for investigation of the perpetrators.
The officers at the police station simply took the paper from the doctor and told her it was “sufficient”, Polykarpou said.
Moreover, when Kisa rang the station in an effort to clarify information for the couple, the station’s officers told the NGO they ought to “get a lawyer involved” if they had a problem and questioned Kisa’s getting in touch.
Eventually the station’s chief assured Kisa that the incident had been looked into and handled and that the couple could return to file a report about the attack.
However, once Kisa informed the couple and they returned to the station, they were told that the station was understaffed, and they would be notified on Saturday if they should come again.
“This is not an isolated incident, we have the similar situation in Limassol and other reports where victims will contact the police and get no result and are not treated with dignity and the requisite attention,” Polykarpou said.
The incident unfolded on Tuesday night in downtown Nicosia.
Thirty-year-old Kamga Kengne had been expecting his wife, Hobo Suleban, to return by bus from a doctor’s visit, when instead he received a call from his brother-in-law that she had been beaten on the street and afterwards held for hours in a cell at the police station.
According to Kengne, his wife and her brother had entered a coffee shop in downtown Nicosia, where he had asked to use the toilet.
The employee had rudely refused and told them to get out.
When Hobo allegedly questioned employee’s insulting behaviour the latter called on two patrons sitting outside to help get rid of the pair.
The situation verbally escalated and the two men allegedly punched Hobo and her brother, leaving her bruised and bloody. Hobo herself called the police to the scene to report what had occurred.
The situation escalated from there, with Hobo and her brother getting beaten while the police were called to the scene.
She was finally released around midnight while it is alleged that the perpetrators suffered no consequences.
The office of the Human Rights’ Commissioner assured the Cyprus Mail on Wednesday that the complaint was being investigated.
