Pafos Live 25 November 2025
The Police arrested a 40-year-old woman yesterday, in connection with an investigated case of arson, committed last September, in Paphos.
The 40-year-old was arrested yesterday at noon, by members of the Paphos Police Department, by virtue of a court warrant, for the purpose of investigating the case.
According to the data under investigation, on September 3, shortly after 2.00 in the morning, a fire broke out in the loft of a store in Paphos, where the 40-year-old temporarily lived.
The fire was extinguished by the Fire Service. From the examinations carried out by the Police and the Fire Service, it was found that it was arson.
The case is being investigated by the Paphos Police Department.
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A disturbance was caused yesterday at noon in Larnaca after an incident with stabbings.
According to the first information, at about 15:10 the Police received a notification of an injury to a person with a knife, after an attack allegedly received by one of his employees in the Tsiakkilero area in Larnaca.
Police officers rushed to the scene, where they located both the suspect and the injured person. The victim was taken to the hospital, where he is undergoing medical examinations and receiving treatment. Based on the evidence so far, the injured man is out of danger, with injuries to his neck and chest.
The investigations continue by the Larnaca Police Department.
Update - Police investigations are underway in relation to the knife injury of a 49-year-old man, in a building under construction, with the alleged perpetrator being a 32-year-old employee from Romania. The incident happened shortly after 3 pm at the back of the building, located on Raphael Santi Street, opposite the refugee settlement of Tsiakkilero in Larnaca.
The other employees reacted immediately and managed to immobilize the perpetrator, while an ambulance was notified to transport the 49-year-old to the Hospital. Members of the Larnaca Police rushed to the scene and handcuffed the 32-year-old, who is expected to be examined by a psychiatrist.
The injured man is being treated at the Larnaca Hospital and the preliminary information from the treating doctors states, according to information from the Police, that his health condition does not inspire concern.
The scene has been cordoned off and several items have been taken, including the knife, which will be sent for scientific examinations.
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Filenews
Vandalism, damage and theft occurred in the Christmas decorations of the city of Larnaca, with the Municipality calling on citizens to respect the public space and contribute to the protection of the festive decorations.
The Municipality of Larnaca, through a statement issued, expresses its deep regret and indignation for the incidents of vandalism that have recently occurred in the Christmas decorations of the city.
As stated in the announcement of the Municipality, unknown persons caused damage to a snowman figure, which had been placed as part of the festive decoration. "In addition, damage and theft were recorded on the Christmas Tree located in Europe Square, as well as on the lights of the fountain, but also in various parts of the Christmas decoration."
The Municipality calls on all citizens to respect the public space and contribute to the protection of the festive decorations, so that we can all enjoy the festive atmosphere.
Finally, the Municipality of Larnaca appeals to anyone with information about the above incidents to contact the Larnaca Police, so that those responsible can be identified and justice is served.
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The three suspects, aged 25, 34 and 46, were placed in seven-day detention by the Larnaca District Court in connection with the case of assault and attempted kidnapping of a 46-year-old British citizen in Anafotia, Larnaca district. These are two Greek Cypriots and a foreigner of Kurdish origin, who knew the victim and allegedly had financial differences with him.
Initially, the two Greek Cypriots, 25 and 34 years old, were arrested yesterday afternoon for the case, while the 46-year-old, who was wanted, surrendered to the Police on Monday morning.
This was preceded by a complaint from the 46-year-old who stated that around 5 pm on Saturday he was attacked by three men while he was outside his house in Anafotia. According to the complainant, one of the three men hit him with a club, while then the alleged perpetrators tried to forcibly carry him to their car. The 46-year-old resisted and started shouting, as a result of which his wife heard him and called the Police. Then the three suspects left the area without being able to implement the plan to kidnap the 46-year-old, who then named them and arrest warrants were issued against them.
The case is being investigated by the Kofinos Police Station.
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The Police issued a statement after a police officer was injured in an incident that took place on Monday.
Specifically, around 19:45 today, at the Paralimni Police Station, during the assumption of duty by two members of the Police, as part of the necessary security measures taken during the delivery / receipt of weapons, a service weapon was fired, as a result of which one member of the Police was injured in the leg.
The member of the Police was transported by ambulance to the General Hospital of Famagusta, where he was found to have a superficial wound on his left leg. He is expected to suture the wound and be discharged.
The Chief of Police gave instructions to investigate the incident.
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The arrest and search warrant against the Azeri, who has been detained since last June for a case of terrorism against the British Bases in Akrotiri and espionage at the Andreas Papandreou Base in Paphos, was considered legal by the Supreme Court.
The Azeri had requested, through his lawyer Efstathios Efstathiou, to be given permission to challenge his search warrant and arrest warrant issued on 21.6.2025. The warrants had been issued in connection with the investigation of the offenses of conspiracy to commit a felony, participation in and acceptance of the commission of crimes, offenses in violation of the Combating Terrorism and Protection of Victims Law of 2019, and espionage.
In the oath that accompanied the application for the issuance of the warrants, reference was made to the receipt of top-secret information, of high reliability, that the appellant had been in Cyprus since April 2025 and was receiving information about the presence of a foreign military presence in Cyprus and that he might be organizing a direct terrorist attack. According to the information, the appellant was in contact with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). The oath also referred to the physical monitoring of the appellant that followed and a description of his movements, which allegedly confirmed this information.
The Azeri attributes to the Court of First Instance an erroneous assessment of the testimony before him, as he took into account "unverifiable information from a third country" and adopted "circular reasoning" instead of "judicial review of legality". It was his suggestion that European case law requires increased evidentiary control and independent confirmation of the accuracy and reliability of secret and anonymous information, something that the Court of First Instance failed to do in the present case.
The Supreme Court held that the Court of First Instance was properly guided by the legal principles and in the light of these legal principles examined the present issue. He further observed that this made a correct assessment of all the testimony that had been put before him. As the Supreme Court pointed out, it initially pointed out that the oath did not record that the information came from a third country, but from a "foreign cooperating Service". In addition, he rightly pointed out that the question was not the origin of the information, but whether it "has those characteristics that could allow the Court hearing a relevant request to conclude that there is a reasonable suspicion and suspicion", as required by law and in accordance with case law.
Subsequently, the District Court, notes the Supreme Court, referred both to the information received, which referred in a specific way to the appellant's involvement with the offenses under investigation, his way of acting and reacting, and in general to his behaviour and role in them. In addition to the information, the Court of First Instance noted that this information was also confirmed during the physical surveillance of the appellant that followed at a specific time by the Services of the Republic.
Therefore, the Supreme Court adds, the existing testimony did not come only from information but also from physical surveillance of the appellant by the Cypriot authorities. The behaviour and movements of the appellant during this surveillance gave rise to a reasonable suspicion of his connection with the offenses. This testimony was rightly judged, in its entirety, by the Court of First Instance as capable of establishing a reasonable suspicion of the connection of the appellant with the offenses under investigation, the Supreme Court points out.
"We consider that the Court of First Instance made a comprehensive and correct assessment of the entire testimony and evaluated all relevant evidence to conclude that the issuance of the warrants was justified," the Supreme Court pointed out, rejecting the appeal.
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An investigation into a complaint concerning a union of the Pancyprian Amateur Boxing Federation has led to findings, which refer to offenses of the criminal code.
The case arose through the work of the Sports Ethics and Protection Committee (EDPA). Specifically, following a relevant complaint, the Committee appointed an investigating officer. The latter, according to sources of "F", is said to have detected strange phenomena.
From what emerges from our cross-checked information, during the investigation it was found that documents were forged in order to secure a four-digit amount per year from the Cyprus Sports Organization, in the context of providing incentives.
In the frame of the whole case is even a boxing certificate showing a person who attended a successful boxing coach course while he was a minor. The person in question has now reached the age of majority and practices another profession, however, he falsely appeared to perform the duties of a coach for the purpose of securing money from the CSO in the form of bonuses.
The evidence obtained during the testimony collection by the investigating officer leads to the conclusion that the paradoxical phenomena took place for at least some years. In other words, it is not an isolated event, but something that happened repeatedly.
The background of the research
The investigation of the complaints was ordered by the Sports Ethics and Protection Committee at the end of 2023. An announcement by the committee noted that at its meeting, dated 24/10/2023, it was decided "to appoint an Investigating Officer to investigate incompatibility under Article 14 of Law 180(I)/2017, and/or illegal practices in the Boxing Federation".
To the Prosecutor and the Police
When at the end of 2024 the investigating officer came to conclusions, the Sports Ethics and Protection Committee decided to discontinue the investigation, and this in order not to waste valuable time and contaminate the case. Thus, actions were taken and the collected witness material was immediately forwarded to the Attorney General's office. From there, the case was forwarded to the Cyprus Police with instructions to conduct a criminal investigation. A Police examiner is reportedly to have completed his own investigation and forwarded a file with all the witness material to the Attorney General and his suggestion for the possibility of criminal charges.
The offenses under investigation
As far as "F" knows, the case and the evidence that emerged were such as to support possible criminal offenses of forgery and extraction of goods with false representations. The office of the Attorney General's Office will have the final say if the internal evaluation procedures of the case are completed.
Four faces
Four persons are allegedly involved in the case. Two of them are officials of the Boxing Federation. From Cypriot sports circles, the case is characterized as very serious.
26 investigations at the Public Prosecutor's Office
However, the cases that have been forwarded to the Attorney General's office by the Sports Ethics and Protection Committee (EDPA) exceed 20. In fact, a total of 26 findings of cases investigated by the EDPA have been taken to the Attorney General.
This figure emerges from an update provided yesterday morning at a press conference of the Commission in Nicosia, on the occasion of the finalization of its new recommendation. The newly appointed president of EDPA, Stefanos Skordis, said that the body he heads so far has completed 69 investigations. Of these, according to the information he gave, 31 have been archived, while the findings for another 26 have been handed over to the Attorney General. In addition, investigations into 11 cases are ongoing, while another has recently been completed and its conclusion will soon be examined by the members of the Ethics Committee.
Mr. Skordis clarified that of the 26 findings that have been delivered to the Attorney General's Office, there are still some that are under study and investigation, and therefore other criminal cases are likely to arise. "The process for all 26 cases has not been completed," he stressed.
Complaints via platform
The executive of EDPA, Nikolas Konstantinou, gave details about the platform under creation, which will provide the opportunity for citizens to submit complaints online with complete anonymity and protection. As Mr. Constantinou mentioned, this is a modern and fully secure system that will allow any citizen to report, with real anonymity, offenses of corruption in sports or other offenses provided for in Part IV of the Law on Combating the Manipulation of Sports Events. The platform will not collect IP, cookies or any technical identifier, while all information will be stored encrypted in an isolated environment, accessible only by authorized members of the Commission. The implementation, as he explained, is based on the internationally recognized GlobaLeaks system, which is used by the European Commission, Transparency International and a variety of European organizations to protect whistleblowers. As Mr. Constantinou mentioned, the operation of the platform is expected to be completed within three months, offering an essential tool to strengthen the fight against corruption in Cypriot sports. He concluded by commenting that "what we want to send is a clear message that the integrity of sport and the protection of people who dare to report an incident is our absolute priority."
Bill aimed at imposing fines of up to €200,000
Answering questions from "F", Mr. Skordis analyzed the issue of incompatibility in sports (factors with a dual capacity), while he also spoke about the efforts being made to make the work of the EDPA more effective. He explained that 31 of the 69 surveys carried out concern incompatibility. The 26, he added, have to do with manipulation, while the remaining 12 may include incompatibility.
The president of EDPA commented that the issue of incompatibility and its suppression must be handled with a lot of responsibility. He previously explained that Cypriot society is small, many unions operate voluntarily (meaning that there are no benefits) and issues of viability and functionality will arise if the issue is approached in a very strict form.
In our question, we pointed out that there are cases of serious incompatibility in which a football agent has financial benefits from the sport he serves. We also submitted that there is a delay in bringing a case to Court, provided that the EDPA has investigative powers and that in case of findings, a new criminal investigation should be carried out by the Police, resulting in a loss of time and the risk of affecting the witness material.
Mr. Skordis responded by referring to an amending bill that was prepared and has been forwarded to the competent ministry. The legislation, as he explained, gives the power to the EDPA to impose high fines in cases of incompatibility and to deprive an agent of the sporting status. He explained that in this way the work of the Committee will become much more effective and that "you will not wait three years for a case to go to Court to be sentenced".
On the sidelines of the press conference, he told us that the legislation under promotion provides for fines of up to €200,000 for incompatibility, while clarifying that the existing provisions of the legislation on incompatibility (see imposition of a prison sentence in case of guilt) will be maintained.
The press conference was attended by all the members of the Sports Ethics and Protection Committee. The reason for the president Stefanos Skordis, the vice president Efthymios Efthymiou, Christina Ioannou, Nikolas Konstantinou and Nikolas Koursaris (members).
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Cyprus Mail
Police in the north carried out a large-scale traffic operation in the night from Saturday to Sunday resulting in 58 arrests, the removal of 160 cars from circulation, and 523 speeding fines.
According to Turkish Cypriot media reports, a total of 6,710 vehicles were checked during the operation, which was conducted across various areas in the north.
The checks included breathalyser and drug-testing machines, with the latter reportedly being used for the first time in the north.
Out of the 58 people arrested, 53 were found to be residing in the north without a permit. In addition, drugs were found in the possession of three people, while two people were arrested for drunk driving and causing public disturbance.
Police in the north said the operation was part of a broader effort to combat the use of illegal substances and reduce the risk of traffic accidents.
