Filenews 5 August 2025
A case of kidnapping and beating that is being investigated by the Limassol TAE is causing shock, with seven people of Syrian origin as alleged perpetrators and two of their compatriots as victims. As Filenews wrote yesterday, the cause of the kidnapping of the victims seems to have been over a sum of money of €2,500, which – as one of the suspects claimed – had been stolen from him.
The detention process of the seven suspects before the Limassol District Court was long and intense. Initially, their lawyers submitted a request for legal aid, which was not accepted by the Court for all the suspects. The defense lawyers then raised an objection regarding the duration of their clients' detention. Finally, the Court, after hearing both sides, reserved the decision for today, Tuesday.
As heard during the detention proceedings of the suspects, around 22:30 on Saturday evening, the 3rd suspect contacted the 2nd complainant, asking him to follow him to "discuss" the issue of the amount of money that the first suspect claimed had been stolen from him. The complainant, feeling insecure, asked his roommate (the 2nd complainant) to accompany him. The two got into the vehicle of the 3rd suspect, in which the 1st suspect was a passenger. Subsequently, the two complainants were transferred to an isolated location outside Limassol, where the situation took another turn.
Five to six vehicles and 15 to 20 people were waiting for them at the scene. According to testimonies obtained by the investigators of the Limassol TAE, shocking scenes followed there. The two complainants were forced to lie on the ground, where they were tied with belts and wires. The 3rd suspect, holding a bat, began to hit them repeatedly on the legs, until the bat broke. They were then tied with wires and dragged to the ground by car.
The 3rd suspect allegedly repeatedly punched the 2nd complainant in the face, demanding the money. Despite his denials, the suspect continued his violent behaviour. Subsequently, the unknown persons who were at the scene, according to the testimonies and testimonies, also attacked the bodies of the complainants with clubs and sticks. The suspects then transported the two complainants to an unknown location, where the 3rd suspect locked them in a warehouse and threatened that they either return the money to him or he would kill them.
The Police proceeded to locate and interrogate the suspects. The first and second suspects verbally admitted their involvement in both the transport and the scene of the abuse. The 3rd suspect was identified by one complainant as the one who organized the attacks and made the threats. The suspect was also identified as one of the persons involved, holding a knife, which he put in the throat of one of the victims.
The suspects are being investigated for the offences of conspiracy to commit a felony, kidnapping, demanding money with threats, assault and causing actual bodily harm.
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An elderly defendant was found guilty at the Limassol District Court of a number of charges in a case involving animal abuse. The case causes shock and disgust, as the abused animals owned by the 77-year-old lived under horrible living conditions in her hands.
The defendant faces a total of 13 charges, however, she was found guilty of 10 of them, which are related to violations of the Law on the Protection and Welfare of Animals, after 11 dogs were found living under completely inappropriate conditions on her premises.
This is the same woman, to whose residence a few weeks ago a volunteer went along with all the services involved, in order to remove dozens of other dogs that the defendant had in her possession and which were also living in miserable conditions.
In its decision, the Court notes that the prosecution witnesses presented were considered credible, unlike the accused, whose testimony was rejected.
Relating the findings of the Court on the basis of the testimony presented by the Prosecution, and specifically by the Public Prosecutor, Panicos Avramidis, it was held that the Prosecution proved beyond any reasonable doubt the offences. After this development, the case was set for speeches on the mitigation of the sentence at the beginning of September.
The tangle of the unprecedented case began to unfold on 17/7/2020, following a complaint made to the Police by the State Veterinary Services. In the first raid that took place on the premises of the 77-year-old, three dogs were found living under horrible conditions. The unfortunate animals were dehydrated, suffering from chronic diseases, had wounds on their legs and one of them was lying down. Despite being transferred to a veterinarian by officials of the Veterinary Services, the animal did not manage to survive. The other two dogs were found locked in the toilet of the premises.
The officer of the Veterinary Services, during his testimony before the Court, stated that the clinical picture of the three dogs was miserable. "They were dehydrated, as they were exposed to high temperatures for many hours (August). The premises had windows and there was not adequate ventilation. The investigation of the authorities continued and in early August 2020 the Police were asked to conduct a new search at the house of the accused, which was adjacent to the premises where the first three dogs had been found. During the search, eight more dogs were identified, also in a miserable condition.
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After the approval of her request to contest the search warrant in two bank vaults and the discovery of €238,000, the 37-year-old businesswoman and socialite managed to obtain permission to request the cancellation of the search warrant in her apartment and premises.
With an application through her lawyer Dimitris Tsolakidis, the 37-year-old, who is already facing trial for serious offences, requested permission to cancel the search warrant dated 25.6.2025 for two of her premises in Nicosia.
In her application, she claimed that information had been given by a highly reliable person that she was hiding money, mobile phones and other evidence related to the conspiracy case under investigation, corruption and money laundering offences, but not for the source of knowledge of the information.
The Supreme Court accepted that the reference to the oath that the person who provided the information "is considered to be highly reliable" does not appear to fill any gap that exists in relation to the informant's source of knowledge. "In any case, the Supreme Court emphasizes, the issue, at the stage when the Police requires an investigation warrant, is not whether or not the informant is a reliable person. What is being examined is whether the witness material put before the Court is such as to justify the existence of reasonable suspicions that there is anything referred to in Article 27 of the Criminal Procedure Law, Cap. 155.
I believe, says Judge I. Ioannidis, having before me the specific witness material used for the issuance of the search warrant, and with what I noted in relation to the source of knowledge of the informant, that the question arises as to whether such testimony and facts had been brought before the lower court, from which a specific and reasonable suspicion arose that in the specific house and premises of the applicant "Presumptions such as cash sums of money, mobile phones and anything else related to the commission of the crimes under investigation are concealed."
Following this finding, it ordered that the Application for a summons be registered within 15 days and served on the Attorney General on 10.9.2025.
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The use of an air gun caused the damage to the Paphos Road Transport Department, according to Paphos Assistant Police Director of Operations Michalis Nicolaou.
Mr. Nicolaou said that the Paphos TAE is investigating a case of illegal possession, transport and use of an air weapon and explosives.
Referring to the history, Mr. Nicolaou noted that this morning the employees of the Paphos Road Transport Department, immediately after their arrival for work, realized that there was damage to six small windows, light ducts, which were located on the façade of the buildings of the Technical Vehicle Inspections.
The Police were immediately informed, members of which, as he said, cordoned off the scene and began conducting examinations.
Also, he continued, members of the Criminal Investigation Service of the Police Headquarters were called to the scene for examinations and it has been established that the damage was caused by the use of an air gun.
Investigations into the case are continuing in order to identify the alleged perpetrators.
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The Limassol District Court today sentenced a 69-year-old man to 10 months in prison after finding him guilty of causing a fatal road collision. The 69-year-old was also sentenced to 8 points and deprivation of his driver's license for three months from the day of his release.
It is a traffic accident that happened on April 1, 2023 at 4.50 a.m. in Limassol where the 69-year-old dragged and fatally injured with his car, a 52-year-old man who at the time was a pedestrian next to the sidewalk.
