Filenews 4 June 2025
The 35-year-old from Limassol who is accused of attempting to murder a pharmacist and her employee in a pharmacy in Chloraka on April 14 has been dismissed from the Mental Health Hospital in Nicosia.
After his release, he was arrested and presented to the Paphos court yesterday, which issued a two-day detention order against him. The case file has been forwarded to the legal service with a recommendation for the registration of the case at the Paphos Assize Court. The suspect faces charges of attempted murder, injury, and stabbing. After the attack, the 35-year-old had surrendered to the police.
The 35-year-old had invaded the pharmacy and had injured the 33-year-old owner of the store and her 24-year-old employee with a knife, attributing to his personal differences with the owner of the pharmacy. The two women were hospitalized.
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Members of the Police conducted a search yesterday afternoon at the home of a 48-year-old man in Nicosia, on the basis of a court warrant, following information about illegal possession and trafficking of duty-free tobacco products, as well as fraudulent evasion of duties and taxes.
During the investigation, the following were found in the suspect's house and vehicle:
· 243 boxes of heated cigarettes.
· 264 boxes of various cigarettes.
· 10,750 grams of tobacco.
· A sum of money, which was confiscated.
All the confiscated products were handed over to customs officers, while the 48-year-old was arrested for flagrant offenses.
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Members of the Green Line Surveillance and Migration Flow Response Sub-Directorate of the Ministry of Health, during a motorized patrol in an area of Nicosia, spotted a truck moving suspiciously along the buffer zone shortly after midnight.
Then, the truck exited the buffer zone and entered the free areas, where it was immediately stopped by members of the Police.
During the ensuing investigation, it was found that eight lambs were transported, without the means of identification provided for by the legislation.
The driver of the vehicle, a 42-year-old man, was arrested for flagrant offenses and was detained.
The case is being investigated by the Latsia Police Station, in cooperation with the Customs Department.
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Filenews
Five minors are allegedly involved in an arson case that occurred on Wednesday, May 22, 2025, at the Agia Fyla High School where they had set fire to tyres in the school area.
After examinations conducted by members of the Polemidia Police Station, testimony was obtained against five persons – a 14-year-old and four 15-year-olds.
The minors have been charged in writing and are being handled in accordance with the provisions of the current legislation concerning children who come into conflict with the law.
The case file is expected to be forwarded to the Legal Service of the Republic for further handling.
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The Police in Nicosia arrested an 18-year-old driver last night, when he was spotted driving at a speed of 112 kilometers per hour, on a road where the maximum limit is 50 km/h.
The young man is expected to appear in court today.
As the Police says in a statement, the authorities continue their efforts to prevent and suppress dangerous driving, with the aim of enhancing road safety.
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The Paphos District Court convenes today to continue the extradition process to Jordan of a 41-year-old man who was wanted on an international warrant for a murder he committed in the country. The 41-year-old was arrested in Paphos last Wednesday under an international warrant after being wanted by Jordanian authorities in connection with a murder case committed in that country in 2016.
According to the Jordanian authorities and his international arrest warrant, the 41-year-old was already sentenced in absentia by the Jordanian courts to a 10-year prison sentence.
After his arrest, the wanted man was detained and the next day he was brought before the Paphos District Court where the extradition process to Jordan began. The court set the next trial for today and ordered the 41-year-old to remain in custody until then.
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Today's hearing for the murder of Thanasis Kalogeropoulos, which is being tried before the Permanent Court of Assize of Limassol, due to the illness of one of the accused, was postponed.
The proceedings were short, with the lawyer of the 2nd defendant, Andreas Gialelis, reporting to the court that his client does not feel well at all and is unable to enter the courtroom. He even asked for an ambulance to be called so that he could be transferred to the Limassol General Hospital.
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The three defendants were referred to a direct trial before the Limassol Permanent Assize Court, in relation to the case of the large quantity of drugs and the amount of money found during an operation of the Police Force two weeks ago, in a café and premises on Franklin Roosevelt Street.
The detention of the three ended yesterday and the case referral process lasted until late afternoon, as the defendants' lawyers filed an objection regarding their detention as defendants until the start of the trial. The Court, after hearing all sides, reserved the right to announce its decision on Wednesday. In the end, the three defendants will remain on trial.
The case has been set for trial before the Limassol Permanent Assize Court on July 14, 2025.
The 3 defendants are facing the offenses of conspiracy to commit a felony, illegal possession of cannabis, possession for the purpose of supply to a third party, illegal possession of explosives and money laundering.
It is noted that the wanted – brother of the 1st defendant remains missing for the time being. We remind you that it was presented at the offices of the Limassol Police Station on the day of the Limassol operation (25/5) after a large amount of money was found in a safe in the premises where he resides. He gave explanations and left without being arrested.
According to the evidence presented to the Court during the proceedings of their detention, on May 8, 2025, the Ministry of Justice received information that the 1st defendant, known to the authorities, was involved in the trafficking of cocaine and cannabis, which he allegedly stored in the cafeteria and adjacent premises. He also allegedly supplied the substances to two of his associates for further distribution.
On the basis of this information, search warrants were issued on May 23 for the cafeteria, the related premises, houses and vehicles. The operation took place on May 25 at premises on Franklin Roosevelt Avenue.
The searches were carried out in a cafeteria, premises, vehicles and a boat.
Authorities found 540 grams of cannabis, processing and packaging equipment, as well as 31 cartridges of various calibres of 7.65mm and 9mm. A sum of money exceeding €120,000 was also confiscated.
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in-cyprus
A 33-year-old driver was sentenced to immediate imprisonment for 16 months on Tuesday for causing the death of a 17-year-old motorcyclist in an illegal overtaking manoeuvre in Ypsonas five and a half years ago.
The defendant broke down upon hearing the sentence for causing death through reckless, thoughtless or dangerous conduct, with the court noting significant delays in case proceedings that saw 23 months pass before charges were filed.
The court found the defendant guilty of causing the death of Alexander Markides through reckless driving, rejecting his plea on the primary charge whilst imposing no penalty for the secondary charge of crossing continuous white lines where overtaking is prohibited.
Despite mitigating factors including the defendant’s clean criminal record and cancer diagnosis in 2023, the court emphasised that his driving created “obvious and serious danger” through the illegal overtaking attempt.
“The defendant drove his vehicle in a manner that created obvious and serious danger. Overtaking at a point where it is prohibited contains the element of indifference,” the court stated in its judgement.
The case experienced substantial procedural delays, with proceedings taking over three years from the December 2019 accident to reach trial. The court noted the case was registered in November 2021, scheduled for plea in January 2022, but delayed repeatedly due to court scheduling constraints before hearings began in late 2024.
The fatal collision occurred on 18 December 2019 on Elia Kannaourou Street in Ypsonas when the defendant, then 27, crossed into oncoming traffic whilst attempting to overtake. The 17-year-old motorcyclist, attempting to avoid the collision, fell and was struck by the defendant’s vehicle, resulting in instant death.
Investigations revealed the teenager was riding a stolen motorcycle without lights or protective helmet, factors the court considered as contributory negligence that influenced sentencing.
The court declined to suspend the prison sentence, stating that given the circumstances of the fatal collision resulting from reckless driving behaviour, suspension would not reflect the seriousness of the offence and would send wrong messages to the public.
Additional penalties include eight penalty points and 12-month driving licence disqualification following release from prison.
The defendant’s lawyer, Antonis Antoniou, confirmed plans to appeal both the conviction and sentence, according to local media reports.
The court acknowledged the defendant’s personal circumstances, health problems, remorse and elapsed time as factors that substantially influenced the penalty level but determined these were insufficient to justify sentence suspension.
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Filenews
A search of a premises in Ayia Napa as part of a coordinated operation to combat the sexual exploitation of persons, was carried out last night by members of the Police and officials of other services.
As part of the investigation, members of the Anti-Trafficking Bureau interviewed 31 people who were found at the premises, without any evidence of their victimization.
At the same time, from the inspections of officials of the Labour Inspection Office, nine cases of undeclared work emerged, for which extrajudicial fines were imposed.
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Six of the seven defendants responded with a denial of guilt to all charges in the major case of naturalizations, for which former minister Marios Dimitriadis is also in the dock.
The seven defendants were summoned today by the Assize Court to answer the charges against them. These were considered to have been read and six out of seven respondents replied that they did not admit. The 7th defendant, Josef Friedrich Santin, raised through his lawyer the issue of a special answer, arguing that the Court does not have jurisdiction to try him. As mentioned, the offences for which he is accused were committed in China, he comes from Austria and so he claimed that the Cypriot Court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case against him.
The Court has set June 20 as the day to hear his request and decide. For the other six defendants, he set the hearing of the case for 15/9/2025.
The eight natural and two legal persons accused in the largest naturalization case are: Marios Dimitriadis, Andreas Dimitriadis, Dimitris Dimitriadis, Giorgos Dimitriadis, Eleni Simillidi, Jing Wang, Josef Friedrich Santin, Vasiliki Georgiou-Santin and the companies Andreas Demetriades & Co LLC, Delsk (Cyprus) Business Services Ltd.
The charges they face are a total of 59 and are related to corruption, embezzlement, conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. The charges relate to offences related to the naturalisations of 19 Asian investors.
According to the evidence in the case file, a person who is married to a former embassy employee and was able to have contact with Chinese investors (both are in the indictment) seems to have played a catalytic role in attracting interested parties. The money, according to the findings, was paid by those interested in obtaining a Cypriot passport and then, through companies, part of the amounts of the investments ended up in a third party.
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A new case of sexual abuse of a minor boy, Filenews brings to light. This is a young man who is accused of sexually abusing a child under the age of 10, in a place where the child was going to teach and was under the supervision of the former.
The chain of cases of sexual abuse of minors that is growing is causing revulsion, anger and horror. In fact, most of the time, the alleged perpetrators are persons beyond suspicion, who no one would have imagined that they could commit such heinous and condemnable acts.
The case was revealed, according to valid information on our website, when the minor revealed what happened on a specific day, after receiving it from a close relative. Subsequently, the case was reported to the Police and concerns two different incidents in which the minor child allegedly suffered sexual abuse by the person in question.
After the complaint, the accused, who is a young person, was referred to trial before the Limassol Assize Court. The accused was subsequently taken to the Central Prison as a defendant. Today (3/6), the case was set for the first appearance in the Assize Court, where in a closed-door procedure, the defendant asked for time to answer the three charges he faces. Subsequently, his detention was ordered until the next trial. The accused is facing offences involving the sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 13.
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Despite the explicit provisions of the legislation that juvenile offenders must be detained in specially designed areas and not come into contact with people over 21 years old, a 16-year-old woman who had been arrested in Larnaca, according to a complaint made to Filenews, was placed in the Central Prison together with detainees over 21 years old, one of whom was 43 years old.
The minor's family has already filed a complaint with the Commissioner for Administration, while instructing her lawyer to proceed with a complaint by the Republic of Cyprus to the European Court of Human Rights.
The 16-year-old, who comes from an EU country and has been living with her family in Cyprus for the past 14 years, was arrested on May 7 along with two adults in connection with two cases of burglary and robbery. The next day she was brought before the Larnaca District Court, which ordered the detention of all three for a period of 4 days. According to her lawyer Christos Fellas, she was initially detained "in various police stations illegally, since there is no administrative act that determines what is the place of detention of minors outside the Central Prison".
On 12 May, the three were taken back to the Court, which ordered their detention pending the hearing of the two cases. "When her detention was ordered, the court stated that the provisions of Law 55(I)/2021 must be complied with and the Prosecution stated that there is a specially designed space in the Central Prison for minors and in this light the court issued a decree for her detention. From 12/5/2025 to 20/5/2025 the minor was detained at various police stations and from 20/05/2025 she was transferred to the Central Prison".
According to the complaint, the minor, instead of being placed in a special wing as ordered by the court and provided for by law, was placed in a dormitory with other prisoners, one of whom was 43 years old. "As soon as I was informed that she was in the Central Prison and with people sentenced to many years in prison, I applied for Habeas Corpus to the Supreme Court to issue a decree that the detention of the minor was illegal, since she was in a detention facility not for children but for adults."
And while waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court yesterday (3/6/2025), the minor was transferred again to the District Court, which had ordered her detention, where, according to Mr. Fellas, the Prosecution stated that it would not insist on the detention of the minor and so the 16-year-old was released, under conditions. "I have instructions from the parents of the minor to proceed with a complaint to the European Commission for the incorrect incorporation of an EU directive into law in Cyprus, which I have done. I have also filed a complaint with the Commissioner for Administration and Protection of Human Rights and within the next few days I will proceed with a complaint by Cyprus to the ECtHR for violation of articles 3 and 5, while I will also file a lawsuit against the Government," the family's lawyer noted.
According to information, from competent sources, six people actually lived in the same dormitory as the 16-year-old, among them a 43-year-old foreigner, but also prisoners over 21 years old.
Filenews contacted the director of the Central Prison, Konstantinos Konstantinidis, who reported the following: "The 16-year-old lived in a dormitory and all measures were taken to protect her, with increased monitoring and care, while she did not express any complaints until the day the Court released her. All arrangements were made for her to have visits from her mother." She also added that "at the moment there is no special space for the detention of women in the Central Prisons. However, in accordance with the regulation, all necessary measures are being taken to best protect this age group, which is rare.
It is for this purpose that the Ministry of Justice is promoting the children's detention facility, which is expected to be ready in early 2026 to accommodate children aged 16-21, both males and girls."
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On 4/6/2025, officials of the Customs Department, after evaluating information and in cooperation with officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Larnaca Airport, intercepted for inspection a 25-year-old passenger with Australian citizenship, who arrived in Cyprus from Thailand via the United Arab Emirates.
During the radiodiagnostic test of the passenger's luggage, an indication emerged that its contents were possibly drugs. In the physical test that followed, cannabis with a total gross weight of 23 kg and 154 grams was found.
The passenger was arrested for flagrant offenses and the drugs were confiscated by the officers of the Customs Department. Later, both the passenger and the drugs were handed over to the Larnaca Airport Police Station for further investigation of the case.
