Pafos Press 10 April 2025
An unprecedented incident occurred this morning in Paphos, when a bus driver who was preparing to transport high school students on an educational trip tested positive for drugs.
According to information, the Paphos Police carried out checks on six buses as part of preventive measures, which included document checks, breathalyzer tests and drug tests on the drivers. During the checks, it was found that one driver tested positive for drugs .
The driver was taken to the detention center, while the students remained inside the bus until the arrival of another driver, who eventually took over their transportation.
According to a police statement, during a check carried out on the six drivers, one of them tested positive for driving under the influence of drugs. Samples were taken from the driver for a final laboratory/scientific examination of driving under the influence of drugs.
One of the notable things about this incident is that some individual parents were even annoyed that their children were late and waited inside the bus until the specific driver was replaced with another. In other words, instead of saying bravo to the Police for preventing the specific driver from taking the bus, they also complained about the inconvenience caused to their children.
The incident raises serious concerns about the levels of responsibility in cases involving the safety of minors during school trips, something that should concern both professional sectors and the services of the Ministry of Education and the Police.
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Pafos Live
The arrest of a 41-year-old man was made by the Paphos Police last night. He faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol without a license and other traffic violations.
According to an announcement by the Office of the Communication Branch of the Police Headquarters, yesterday, around 22:50, under circumstances that are being investigated, a 41-year-old man, while driving his vehicle on Akamantos Avenue in the direction from Polis Chrysochous to Latsi, lost control of his vehicle, resulting in it exiting the main road and overturning in an adjacent field.
Members of the Police went to the spot where on-site examinations found that the 41-year-old was driving under the influence of alcohol, while at the same time his vehicle was declared immobilized, without insurance, without a certificate of suitability, while the driver's license he holds is a student license.
He was subsequently arrested for the above flagrant offenses and transferred to the Paphos General Hospital, where he is being guarded.
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Filenews
Serious developments have been taking place since the morning in relation to the Central Prisons. The Police proceeded to arrest a prison guard and two other persons for investigated criminal offenses, including corruption.
Information from Filenews reports that members of the TAE Headquarters went to prison in the morning and executed arrest and search warrants, while they also put handcuffs on a prison guard.
The information of the police officers concerned the operation of a kiosk outside the official one with the participation of the prison guard, through which items are available for sale to the prisoners.
According to our own information, a search was carried out at the prison guard's house, during which it seems that other items were found that are being examined.
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They took his passport because he was on the Interpol wanted list and wanted it back along with that of his wife and their two children.
With his appeal, he requested the annulment of the decision of the Council of Ministers and the blocking of the decree of the Minister of the Interior to take away his Cypriot passport and identity card.
The Administrative Court, which examined a request by his lawyers for the issuance of an interim decree suspending the decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to remove his Cypriot travel documents, ruled that the appeal he filed was 75 days late, which also delayed his interim application.
According to the decision of Judge F. Komodromos, the applicant P. C., formerly Z. N. acquired Cypriot citizenship by exceptional naturalization as an investor, together with his wife and their two daughters.
Initially, the Court clarified that the only enforceable decision, subject to review by the Court, in accordance with Article 146 of the Constitution, is the decision to issue the disputed decree of the Minister of the Interior, dated 22.8.2024.
With this decision, the act of deprivation of Cypriot citizenship from the applicants was completed.
As stated in the above-mentioned contested decision, the grounds for depriving the applicant of the status of citizen of the Republic lie in Article 113(3)(e) of the Law, provided that the Council of Ministers had previously been satisfied that the applicant was wanted internationally by INTERPOL for serious criminal offences, which carry a prison sentence of five years or more and which constitute an offence in the Republic as well.
The main issue examined by the Court concerned whether the action was out of time.
The applicant's lawyers had argued that he was not informed of the decision of the Council of Ministers to deprive him of his citizenship until the Minister of the Interior issued a decree confiscating his travel documents.
It was also implied that his previous lawyers, who were also the providers, the law firm Andreas Dimitriadis LLC, were informed.
In the present case, the judge states, and given all the above, I find that, in fact, no testimony has been submitted before this Court on the part of the applicants to support with the requisite adequacy their claim that they became aware of the disputed decision for the first time on 13.12.2024 and not before, with the result that the relevant burden of proof has not been lifted from the shoulders of the applicants.
In view of all the above, it concludes that the action, in the context of which the present application was registered, is manifestly out of time.
Finally, the Court also dealt with the references of the applicants' lawyers to the applicant's alleged trips to Cyprus with a cancelled passport during June and September 2024.
In analysing the dates of a decision to deprive the Cypriot of citizenship, the Court held that the applicant's alleged trip in June 2024 took place at a time prior to the issuance of the Deprivation of Citizenship Decree, while the applicant's Cypriot passport was cancelled on 18.9.2024.
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A 38-year-old man was arrested in the early hours of Thursday in Limassol, after allegedly attacking members of the Police with a metal shovel, injuring one of them.
The incident occurred around 1 a.m., when the operator of a mobile phototagging unit alerted the Police that he was being obstructed by a driver during checks. Police officers rushed to the scene, where they located a 38-year-old man inside his vehicle.
According to the Police, the suspect got out of the vehicle as soon as he noticed the presence of the members of the Force, holding a metal shovel and unleashing insults. He then attacked the police officers, injuring one of them in the leg.
The 38-year-old was arrested on the spot for flagrant offenses and was detained.
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An explosion occurred in the early hours of Thursday at the entrance of a 54-year-old man's residence in the Nicosia district, causing material damage.
According to the Police, the complaint was made at 4:15 a.m., when the 54-year-old owner of the house informed the authorities that at about 3:30 a.m. there was an explosion at the entrance of his house.
Members of the Police rushed to the scene and cordoned off the scene. From the first investigations, material damage was found at the entrance of the residence, without reporting injuries.
The Police examinations are in progress.
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A 33-year-old man was arrested yesterday by the Police in Strovolos, when he was found to be in possession of burglary tools.
According to the Police, during his interrogation, the suspect allegedly admitted to committing five burglaries, while he handed over part of the stolen items to the authorities.
The 33-year-old is expected to be rearrested today under court warrants for all cases and then appear before the Nicosia District Court for the issuance of a Detention Order.
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The response of the two deposed archimandrites of the Abbey of Habakkuk to the 24 accusations they face has been postponed until May 6.
Today only Monk Porphyrios appeared before the Permanent Court of Assize of Nicosia, since Monk Nektarios was absent for health reasons.
The representative of the prosecution requested and issued an arrest warrant from the Court, which will remain unexecuted until the next trial, in order to ensure his presence at the trial.
The defense, through lawyer Efstathios Efstathiou, asked for time to give him some testimony and some copies of testimony, since what he has is not legible.
The Court was satisfied with the request for postponement and thus set May 6 as a new trial. The two monks face financial charges for theft and embezzlement of various amounts.
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A Cameroonian woman came to Cyprus illegally through the occupied territories in 2010, remains in the Republic to this day and requested naturalization.
The Ministry of Interior rejected her request, pointing out that "you have not developed social and family ties in the Republic and do not have sufficient resources for your livelihood and therefore, you have become a burden on public finances since you are a recipient of public assistance".
The 50-year-old appealed to the Administrative Court challenging the decision of the Minister of the Interior dated 10.6.2022 which rejected her application for the acquisition of Cypriot citizenship through naturalization.
The applicant submitted an application for asylum and in 2015, she was granted subsidiary protection status, and then, on 15.3.2018, submitted an application for the acquisition of Cypriot citizenship through naturalization.
Later, on 16.6.2021, the Department issued a residence permit to the applicant as a beneficiary of supplementary protection, valid until 16.6.2023.
In the context of the examination of her application for the acquisition of Cypriot citizenship, a personal interview was conducted, a relevant Report was prepared and submitted to the Minister, who finally, on 22.4.2022, decided to reject the said application.
The Report states, among other things, that the applicant does not work, is a recipient of public assistance, is a holder of supplementary protection, has no social ties with the Republic, nor any genealogical link with Cyprus, her children are in various countries, while it is also noted that the applicant entered the Republic illegally through occupied territories.
In the submission for the rejection of her application, which of course was accepted, the officer states that, based on the above data, the naturalization of the applicant would not serve the public interest and the interests of the state.
Her lawyer had argued that the decision was made without due diligence and spoke of bad faith on the part of the administration.
The Court held that the administration acted within the limits of the proper exercise of its power and discretion, that they had taken into account and duly took into account in their final judgment, the financial situation and the financial resources of the applicant in the Republic, the fact that she, as a recipient of public assistance, has become a burden on the public finances of the country, as well as her non-integration into Cypriot society, since she has not developed social and family ties in the Democracy.
The Court rejected her allegations of error on the facts and with it her appeal.
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Cyprus Mail
Arrest warrants have been put out for four more people over the attempted eviction of a group of third-country nationals from a block of flats in the Larnaca suburb of Oroklini, which turned violent and ended with a 27-year-old man requiring a craniectomy, the police confirmed on Thursday.Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, a police spokesperson confirmed that all four warrants have been issued for Cypriot nationals.
The spokesperson also confirmed that seven people have been arrested thus far, including the building’s 35-year-old manager. He remains in custody, having been remanded for eight days in court on Sunday.
Three more Cypriot nationals were also arrested in connection with the incident and have since been freed pending the conclusion of police investigations into the matter.
The three other people to have been arrested are all third-country nationals who were found to be living in Cyprus illegally. As such, the police spokesperson confirmed that procedures are underway for their deportation.
The spokesperson also said the 27-year-old who required a craniectomy, a type of brain surgery where a part of one’s skull is removed by a surgeon to relieve pressure, remains in a critical condition.
On Monday, Oroklini deputy mayor Neophytos Fakontis said the block of flats had been an issue for a while, adding that local authorities have been “sounding the alarm since 2017 about the unacceptable situation” in the building.
According to newspaper Politis, he said the building’s inhabitants, who are primarily of African origin, were living “in miserable conditions, without water and electricity, amidst piles of garbage and filth”. He said a decree stipulating the suspension of the building’s operations had been pending at the Larnaca district office for four years as it did not have the relevant approval certificate to operate, but that as the office did not issue the decree, the police were powerless to intervene, and the building’s inhabitants remained in place.
Despite this, he said, the building’s mains water supply had been cut off eight years ago due to accumulated debts.
He went on to say that he had written to the Audit Office complaining of a “waste of public money” on the building, adding that the building’s residents were paying €125 per month each but that “eight to ten people” were living in each flat.
He added that the site had been sold to a private company last year with the aim of developing it, and that around a month ago, the company had informed the local authorities that the building was to be evacuated so that construction work could begin.
According to the Cyprus News Agency, the 35-year-old went to the building in an attempt to evict 15 third-country nationals who were living in the building after having obtained an eviction order, during which it turned violent.
Police were then called in with tear gas then being deployed against the third-country nationals, who had allegedly attacked the police.
