Filenews 22 October 2025 - by Fanis Makridis
Important developments with two terrorism cases which, in addition to the Cypriot prosecuting authorities, occupied journalists and foreign media.
One concerns the 42-year-old Azero, Orhan Asadov, who was registered at the Nicosia Criminal Court in the fall of 2021 and includes terrorism offenses. As "F" is informed, there have been important developments, which may mean the fall of the curtain on a much-praised case accompanied by testimonies, which show the main defendant planned the murder of five Israeli nationals residing in Cyprus.
The other development concerns a case registered against three family members from Syria. The 44-year-old B.T. was said to have been the treasurer of the Syrian jihadist organization Hayat Tahri al Sham (HTS) in Cyprus. Based on the indictment, he collected amounts in Limassol and sent them to Idlib. HTS, as it is abbreviated, also comes the current leader of Syria, Al Saraa. This case is already considered a thing of the past for the Republic of Cyprus. This is because the 44-year-old, his wife and brother-in-law who were accused are already in Syria.
The court proceedings in both cases were conducted behind closed doors for reasons of national and public security.
Close to an agreement
Regarding the first case, in a recent hearing of this unprecedented case, on the part of the prosecuting authority and the defense of the 1st accused, the Azer, Orhan Asadov, it was stated before the three-member Criminal Court that an agreement is emerging between the two sides to modify the indictment. The next hearing is set within the next few days and that is exactly where it will be seen, whether the two sides have reached a compromise.
If the scenario is verified, then charges will be removed and a number of other charges will be admitted by the accused. The two sides will also come to agreement on acceptable facts and the process for imposing a sentence will be launched (note. report on Asadov's personal circumstances, speech for mitigation). It is not clear whether there will be a difference of data for the other defendants if there is an agreement on Asadov's case.
The latter has been in custody as a defendant since September 2021, when he was arrested in the parking lot of the Nicosia swimming pool in Agios Andreas. In other words, he has completed four years as a prisoner.
In addition to Asadov, 31-year-old Muzafar Abbas from Pakistan and 30-year-old S. Hussein remain in the indictment of the case, which initially included other persons.
From the registration of the case in the fall of 2021, which was initially covered by foreign media, until today, there have been many court incidents. The defense raised a number of preliminary objections, while after the start of the hearing, issues were raised that led to "trial within trial" procedures. At the moment, three of the total 95 prosecution witnesses have testified.
The registration was initially made on November 5, 2021 with a total of six defendants, while the hearing began on July 6, 2023. Subsequently, two defendants were acquitted, as they were judged not to have active participation, while a third person, a young Cypriot university student originally from Lebanon, was sentenced to 12 months in prison with a three-year suspension and turned into a prosecution witness.
At the end of September 2022, when one year had passed since the arrest of Azeros, the latter, through his lawyer Efstathios K. Efstathiou, had admitted a large number of charges related to forgery and possession of weapons. The Azeri denies the charges related to the offenses of terrorism, conspiracy to commit the murder of five Israeli nationals in Cyprus and money laundering.
They went to Syria
This other case against the 44-year-old B. T., his wife and brother-in-law, has been closed since the end of last July, without publicizing this development. In fact, the three defendants have already returned to Syria since August.
Their defense submitted a request to the Attorney General to suspend the criminal prosecution and return them to Syria. And this is since his clients had previously stated that they wanted to return. This request was accepted from the moment it was ensured that they would voluntarily leave our island.
According to a competent source of information, the Aliens and Immigration Service of the Police ensured that on August 3, 2025, the agreement for the voluntary return of the three people to their homeland was executed. The lawyer of the three persons from Syria, Alexandros Alexandrou, commenting yesterday on the above development, underlined that he submitted a request for the suspension of the prosecution and return of his clients to Syria "given that the testimony material was weak".
Forced returns
According to positions taken by "F" for the purposes of this report, it is considered that the "forced returns" of Syrians convicted in criminal cases in European Union member states seem like a visible scenario. We were pointed out a case of a Syrian in Austria, whose authorities, after a conviction, mobilized a procedure for the removal of supplementary protection and compulsory repatriation.
€712,000 in five months and ends with Turkey
Regarding the case of the repatriated Syrians, we remind you that it arose in October 2024 with the Cypriot prosecuting authorities considering that they were facing a terrorist organization financing ring. The case centered on Idlib, Syria. In fact, a large amount of €712.000 was also put in the frame, which was allegedly managed by the ring over a period of five months. The case includes the names of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (formerly the Al-Nusra Front) and Hezbollah, although the two groups have a history of conflict between them in Syria.
The indictment included a double-digit number of charges, such as conspiracy to commit a felony, participation in a terrorist organization, providing support to a terrorist group and money laundering. Police believed at the time that the offenses were committed between May 2024 and October 2024.
The 44-year-old was alleged to be the mastermind of a ring and the treasurer of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham in Cyprus. He was shown to have contacts with Turks and through the occupied territories to send money to Idlib, Syria, with the widespread Hawala method in Arab countries. It is a way of transferring money that leaves no trace in the banking system.
The evidence presented in the context of preliminary proceedings indicated that the position of a couple residing in Limassol, who allegedly trafficked large amounts, was burdened. The woman's brother was shown to have been actively involved. Initially, eight people were detained in the case, however, in the end, only three people were charged: the 44-year-old main suspect, his 36-year-old wife and the latter's brother.
