Pafos Live 25 June 2025
The case of the escape of the barrister Doros Theofanous, known as "Hairdresser", from Choletria in the Paphos district before the Permanent Assize Court of Paphos is set for today Wednesday.
The 43-year-old defendant has admitted the charge of escaping from legal detention and has not admitted the charge of conspiracy. In the context of the court proceedings, the charge of conspiracy has been dropped.
In today's trial, defense counsel Alexandros Alexandrou will speak on the charge of escape. The position of his defense lawyers, Alexandros Alexandrou, Savvas Matsas and Eleni Alexandrou, as has been said before the Court, is that the 43-year-old was led to escape because evidence emerged that disputes his conviction for the premeditated murder of his partner and her 3-year-old daughter, which may lead to an appeal against his original conviction.
The 43-year-old is expected to be brought today again under draconian measures and accompanied by armed police officers before the Permanent Assize Court sitting in Paphos. For the case of his escape, the former Chief of Police had been dismissed.
Doros Theofanous had escaped from his paternal home in Choletria, during a planned visit to his relatives and after escaping the attention of members of the MMAD and prison guards who accompanied him.
His arrest was made possible after utilizing information that reached the Police and according to which a person who looked like the wanted fugitive was walking in the coastal area of Amathous.
In 2011, the Permanent Court of Assize had imposed a life sentence on Doros Theofanous for the premeditated murder of his partner, Julia Oporok, 24 years old, and 35 years in prison on the charge of manslaughter for the murder of Victoria's 3-year-old daughter, sentences which are consecutive.
Update - Filenews: A decision was not finally issued on the sentence that will be imposed on the hairdresser Doros Theofanous, from Choletria, for his escape, a fact that is now expected to happen in the next trial scheduled for July 8.
His defense spoke today, announcing a new appeal on the issue of his life sentence, claiming that there are now very serious new elements that were not taken into account when imposing the sentence.
Speaking on the charge of escape, the defense of the accused expressed the position that the 43-year-old was led to escape because evidence emerged that disputes his conviction for the premeditated murder of his partner and her 3-year-old daughter, which will lead to a new appeal on his part. The knowledge of these new data, the defense said, had brought the 43-year-old to despair and pushed him to escape.
The 43-year-old defendant has admitted the charge of escaping from lawful detention and has not admitted the charge of conspiracy, which has finally been withdrawn from the judicial process.
Doros Theofanous had escaped from his paternal home in Choletria, during a planned visit to his relatives and after escaping the attention of members of the MMAD and prison guards who accompanied him.
His arrest was made possible after utilizing information that reached the Police and according to which a person who looked like the wanted fugitive was walking in the coastal area of Amathus.
In 2011, the Court of Assize had imposed a life sentence on Doros Theofanous for the premeditated murder of his pregnant partner, Julia Oporok, 24, and a sentence of 35 years in prison on the charge of homicide for the murder of Victoria's 3-year-old daughter, sentences which are concurrent.
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Evidence linking the two Azeris arrested for espionage, in Cyprus and Greece, is being examined by the Greek authorities.
According to information, the two suspects seem to have been using common equipment, a fact that reinforces the suspicions of an organized network.
Specifically, the two men were in possession of the same make and model of camera, the same computer, but also the same tripod, which they used to support the camera in their illegal shots.
The investigation of the Greek authorities is proceeding with special attention, as it now focuses on the two digital discs found in the possession of the 26-year-old, who according to the authorities had purchased the equipment from the center of Athens, in January 2025, shortly after his arrival in the country.
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Pafos Press
The phenomenon of electronic and telephone fraud in Paphos is taking on alarming proportions, with the Police investigating 25 different cases of defrauding citizens from June 1st to date, and the total amount stolen exceeding €100,000.
The perpetrators, who appear to be acting in an organized manner, apply various methods of deception: sending false SMS, emails and/or messages on Social Media that supposedly come from government services or banks, as well as telephone calls from mobile or landline numbers, in which they falsely present themselves as officers of the Social Insurance Service, the Tax Department, the EAC, a Bank or a petroleum company, citing points reward programs.
Under deceptive pretexts, such as "pending balance on your account", "tax audit" or "urgent confirmation of details", they guide citizens to reveal bank card details and passwords, which they use to extract large sums of money.
The amounts that are extracted are transferred directly to foreign accounts and from there they move from account to account, ultimately ending up in tax havens. This technique makes it extremely difficult to identify the perpetrators, even by international agencies such as Europol and Interpol.
The Police urge the public to be particularly careful and to adhere to the following basic instructions:
Do not disclose information such as card numbers, PIN codes, OTP (One Time Password), bank accounts, identity or passport details to anyone.
Do not respond to phone calls or emails requesting payments or “confirmation” of information.
Always check the identity of the persons who communicate with him, by calling directly the official numbers of the services they claim to represent.
Immediately report any suspicious incident to the Police.
The Police emphasize that fraudsters are becoming increasingly persuasive and technologically equipped, which makes the public's contribution to prevention crucial.
Information and immediate response are the strongest defense against fraud.
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Filenews
Two other coordinated operations for the repatriation of foreigners illegally residing in the Republic of Cyprus, were carried out by the Police, in cooperation with the FRONTEX Agency. During the two operations, which took place on June 17 and 21, 2025, a total of 16 persons were repatriated.
Specifically, on June 17, this year's 8th joint operation of the FRONTEX Agency was carried out by the Belgian authorities, through which six persons residing illegally in Cyprus were repatriated. On 21 June, the 9th joint repatriation operation was carried out by the Italian authorities, through which ten persons residing illegally in the Republic of Cyprus were repatriated.
It is noted that from the beginning of 2025 until today, through the operations of the Aliens and Immigration Service, a total of 5,868 foreigners residing illegally in Cyprus have been allowed to enter their countries. The total number for the corresponding period last year was 5,190.The operations of the Police and the Aliens and Immigration Service, in order to maximize the number of returns, continue.
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Following the investigation of a serious case concerning the offences of conspiracy to commit a felony, causing grievous bodily harm, arson of a vehicle, etc., committed on June 20 in Limassol, the Police yesterday proceeded to the arrest of a third person.
He is an 18-year-old resident of Limassol, who was arrested under a court warrant and detained for the purpose of facilitating investigations.
Specifically, on June 20, around 9.30 p.m., while members of the Limassol Traffic Police were conducting traffic checks in an area of Limassol, they attempted to stop a vehicle without registration plates, with tinted windows, which was driving at a speed of 110 km/h instead of 50 km/h.
The driver of the vehicle in question failed to stop at the signal of the members of the Police, while he turned the car towards the police officer and continued his course at a dizzying speed, negligent and dangerously failing to stop at intersections, violating traffic signals.
During the attempt to stop the vehicle in question, warning shots were fired by the members of the Police, while at some point on the road, the vehicle in question collided with three vehicles, including the service vehicle. The driver continued his course, in the opposite direction of traffic, and then headed towards the Limassol-Paphos motorway.
Those involved in the road collision went to hospitals, where it was found that they suffered minor injuries and after receiving first aid, they were discharged.
Around 10.20p.m. the above vehicle was found on fire in an area of Limassol. The fire was extinguished by members of the Fire Department, while from the preliminary examinations that were carried out, it seems that it was maliciously set.
During the investigation of the case, testimony emerged against two persons aged 25 and 20, who were arrested on court warrants and detained, to facilitate the investigations.
The Limassol TAE and the Limassol Traffic Police continue the examinations.
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A Greek Cypriot man was sentenced to 32 weeks in prison after being found guilty by the British Detention Tribunal on June 20 of possession of drugs of category A and B for the purpose of supplying to other persons.
The 47-year-old, who was found in possession of 2.5 grams of cocaine and 100 grams of cannabis, was also found guilty of wilful destruction of evidence – cannabis.
Initially, he was arrested in the area of Agios Nikolaos on October 14, 2024, after a large-scale police operation against drugs and weapons.
The accused was detained until he appeared before the British Bases court, while the British Bases police continued to investigate the case.
The Assistant Police Director of British Dhekelia Bases, Officer Dinos Petrou, said this sent a strong message to those involved in this type of crime.
He explained: "The sentence demonstrates that we will bring those involved in drug trafficking to justice and our efforts will not stop.
"The arrest proves the excellent work done by our Police Force as they identified, located and arrested the accused, who is now behind bars.
"The safety of our communities is our priority."
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In a direct trial at the Assize Court that will sit in Paphos today, the two expatriates who were arrested for the attempted murder of their compatriot in Mandria, Paphos on April 30 were referred to the Assize Court. Based on the decision of the Paphos District Court, the 39-year-old and the 35-year-old remain in custody since their referral on May 19 until today.
The two had escaped from the scene of the assassination attempt and arrest warrants had been issued against them and were wanted. The Police initially arrested the 35-year-old on May 10, while the 39-year-old was located and arrested on May 18.
The arrest of the 35-year-old took place when, after evaluating evidence, the members of the Police located and stopped a car on a Paphos street, in which three persons were occupied, two of whom were wanted for the attempted murder. For their arrest, service weapons were used.
Immediately after the arrest, the above persons tried to escape. The members of the Police stopped and arrested the two persons, aged 33 and 35, while the third, aged 39, managed to escape and was finally arrested on May 18.
The third person arrested with the two who were referred to the Assize Court, was wanted in connection with a robbery case in Paphos on April 28, in which the other two were allegedly also involved.
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The 18-year-old suspect was detained for two days for the wild chase and the shootings that took place last Friday night in Limassol.
The 18-year-old was brought before the Limassol District Court under the baton, as he is injured in the legs. The court ordered him to be detained for a period of two days, with his lawyer not objecting to the request. The suspect, as filenews is informed, after his arrest, refused to answer the questions of the investigators.
During the investigation of the case, testimony emerged that the 18-year-old is the brother of the partner of one of the two suspects arrested for the case and that he had recently been injured in a car accident and is holding a cane and limping.
According to the facts of the case, in the context of the examinations at the scene of the burnt vehicle, testimony was obtained from residents of the area in Ypsonas, according to which the car in question arrived at Ilias Venezi Street at dizzying speed, heading from the roundabout towards the impasse of the lane. The vehicle parked at the end of the impasse and three people, men, disembarked from it.
As for the third suspect (18-year-old), testimony was obtained that he had both his legs wrapped in gauze, from the ankle to the knees. In addition, his right arm was broken and he could not walk on his own. The first and second suspects (25 and 20 years old) were helping him – and all together they moved towards Ilias Venezi Street and then headed south. A few minutes later, the first and second returned on foot, approached the car and, after staying there for a while, left on foot again, following the same route. After they left, the vehicle started to catch fire.
In addition, according to another testimony obtained shortly after the crimes were committed, a black double-cab vehicle was parked in a parking lot near a private hospital in Limassol. Three men got out of the vehicle, two of whom correspond to the description of the persons arrested and detained, while the 3rd who got out of the passenger seat, appeared to be limping and walking with a cane in his left hand.
Then all three moved towards the hospital and met other people outside a café opposite. Then, the 18-year-old suspect entered a kiosk, where he bought some products. From the control of the closed circuit surveillance, his description and photograph were ensured. He was found to have gauze on his lower limbs and an injury to his right arm, which was also wrapped in gauze. The description of his injuries is fully identical to that of the third person who was seen leaving the scene of the arson of the pursued vehicle.
On 24/06 the 18-year-old was summoned to the offices of the Limassol TAE for interrogation. Upon his arrival, he was identified by a member of the TAE as the person recorded in the closed surveillance circuits near the hospital and connected to the other two suspects. During his presence at the Police, it was found that he was limping and holding a cane in his left hand.
