Pafos Live 10 December 2025
Large quantities of drugs were seized by the Anti-Narcotics Service (YKAN), as part of its actions to detect and seize narcotic substances.
After evaluating information, members of YKAN located yesterday in the storage area of a courier company in Limassol a paper box coming from another European country.
During the check, the following were found in the box:
- Cocaine weighing approximately 2 kilograms and 570 grams
- Cannabis weighing approximately 9 kg and 325 grams
Today, as part of a coordinated operation by YKAN, two men were arrested:
- 27 years old, who received the package.
- 18 years old, co-driver of the 27-year-old's vehicle.
A half-smoked cigarette with traces of cannabis was found in the possession of the 18-year-old, while various items were confiscated from the 27-year-old's car.
YKAN (Limassol Unit) continues the examinations.
* * * * * *
Filenews
An explosion of an improvised explosive device occurred at 2:00 in the morning in a vehicle owned by a Greek Cypriot in Akrotiri. The owner of the house immediately notified the Police, while no injuries were reported.
According to the British Bases Police, the bomb was placed under the vehicle.
Police forces and pyrotechnicians arrived at the scene and are conducting investigations into the type of device used. At the same time, the tent has been cordoned off around the house and the adjacent road.
* * * * * *
The Police requested the acceleration of the results of the toxicological and laboratory tests, which may also show the cause of death of the 35-year-old Egyptian in the Central Prisons.
Investigations into this serious case continue inside and outside the Prison, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that the fist that the 30-year-old convict from Paphos received in his cell was not capable of killing him on its own. If no internal bleeding or other pathological cause was found, other data are sought that lead to the cause of death. What will be judged in the end is whether the evidence and the testimony that exists can establish a case of murder and even premeditated, or whether there will be a change in homicide or even in acts aimed at grievous bodily harm. Everything is open for the Police pending the results of the Chemistry Laboratory.
Investigators from the Nicosia Police Department went to the Prisons yesterday to take statements, both from prisoners and from prison guards who were on duty in Ward 4 on Sunday afternoon, where the incident between the two prisoners happened. Of decisive importance will be the testimony given by the only eyewitness to the incident, the victim's cellmate, for whom, according to what the investigator of the case told the Court, the suspect went to the cell and asked for his departure. Then, the Egyptian reacted, an argument broke out between them and it was then that the 30-year-old Greek Cypriot punched him under the left eye. The 35-year-old's collapse a few minutes later cannot be unrelated to the episode, however, the exact cause that led to his loss of consciousness will depend on whether anything is found in his blood or a substance that refers to his death.
There is a restless calm in the Prisons, with the management making efforts to normalize the situation. On the one hand are the prisoners and on the other are the prison guards, two different worlds that are in the same place.
The incident with the Egyptian triggered the strong reaction of the guild of prison guards belonging to PASYDY. In a letter from the Personnel Branch to the new Minister of Justice, Konstantinos Fytiris, it is stated that the situation has reached the point of no return, expressing its strong indignation and deep concern about the unacceptable situation that prevails in the Central Prisons and in the prison sector in general.
As they state, "the long-standing and serious problems faced by the staff of the Prisons continue to remain without substantial treatment, despite our continuous appeals, interventions and suggestions. The latest events, which once again targeted the staff of the Prisons, have highlighted in the most dramatic way that the state is unable or indifferent to protect its officers, who work under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions, demonstrating professionalism, self-sacrifice and respect for the human rights of prisoners on a daily basis." The union states that it is unacceptable to continue the targeting and devaluation of prison officers, while the staff is carrying on their backs a system with huge problems of understaffing, lack of infrastructure, psychological and professional support. Democracy must assume its responsibilities and stop "whistling indifferently" in the face of a situation that has now exceeded all limits."
At the same time, they are expected, as they say, to appeal to the competent European institutions and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), citing the decision of the CTP and other related cases, which document the violations of the rights of both prisoners and staff.
* * * * * *
In a resounding way, the Court of Appeal overturned a first-instance decision sentencing a 25-year-old man to two years in prison with a three-year suspension and directly sentenced him to three years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor.
The Court of Appeal, to which the Attorney General appealed, blasted the court of first instance, ruling that it gave more weight to the fact that the accused was a young man with a clean criminal record and that the incident was isolated.
As can be seen from the facts of the first instance decision, which were set out by the Court of First Instance in a closed-door procedure, on 10.1.2020 a 20-year-old defendant at the time, while he was an employee of a moving company, went along with other employees of the company, to the home of the complaining minor's mother, then only 8 1/2 years old, to help them move.
At some point around noon, the minor's mother left the house to bring food, leaving the minor with the domestic helper. While her mother was away, the minor went up to a bedroom on the second floor of the house to get a toy. On her way out, she noticed the accused having his genital outside his pants.
The 20-year-old did not stop there but lifted her up by touching her in sensitive places. He then asked her not to tell anyone. A criminal case was filed against him on charges of sexual abuse and indecent assault. He initially denied the charges and finally admitted and last March, i.e. five years later, the District Court sentenced him to 2 years in prison only on the first charge which he suspended for three years. He also placed him under the supervision of the Supervisory Authority.
This decision did not leave the Attorney General satisfied, who succeeded in overturning the decision on appeal. The Court of Appeal in its decision ruled that the Court of First Instance erred in deciding to suspend the appellant's prison sentence. He wrongly considered that there were no aggravating circumstances in the case and decided that "because the accused does not appear to be a criminal element from which society is in immediate danger so that he should be immediately imprisoned, I judge without, I emphasize, downplaying the seriousness of the offense for which he was sentenced (which is a given) that it is an appropriate case to exercise my discretion in his favour and suspend the imposed a prison sentence for 3 years".
"We consider that this is a wrong view of the principles of suspension. The Court of First Instance, by suspending the prison sentence it had imposed at first instance, gave the wrong message in relation to the duty of deterrence. Suspension of a prison sentence for offenses of a nature as they are under consideration does not reflect the objective seriousness of the offense, greatly weakens the deterrence of the sentence that aims to adequately protect society as a whole and sends the wrong messages, not serving the purposes of the law. We consider that the Court of First Instance wrongly proceeded to suspend the prison sentence and its order for suspension is annulled.
The appeal was accepted and the first instance decision was modified as follows: The prison sentence imposed in the first category is increased to three years in prison, which is immediate and starts today (8/12/2025).
* * * * * *
He remained in prison for 7.5 years for a case of homicide and robbery, the ECtHR ruled that his trial was not fair, but only received €10,000 in compensation since his conviction was never overturned.
The affected person, after his release from prison following the ECtHR decision, filed a lawsuit against the Republic, claiming compensation for his imprisonment for 7.5 years. The District Court awarded him only €10,000 in damages for the unfair trial but not for the imprisonment. He appealed against this decision, with the Supreme Court ruling that the imprisonment imposed on him by a court decision, which was not overturned or annulled, is lawful, even if the trial is found unfair by the ECtHR.
The affected citizen was convicted in 2001 by the Limassol Criminal Court for homicide and robbery. He was sentenced to concurrent prison sentences of 14 and 6 years respectively. The appeal he filed at the time against his conviction was rejected by the Supreme Court. He then appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which in 2008 found that his right to a fair trial had been violated in his case, mainly because he did not have legal aid in the early stages of the police interrogation, while a crucial element of the confession, which was taken at the time, was used in the trial against him. He had already been released in 2007 with a presidential pardon, having remained in the Central Prison for a total of about 7.5 years, as a prisoner and convict.
In 2009, he filed a lawsuit with the Nicosia District Court against the Republic, seeking damages. The Court of First Instance held that the ECtHR decision granted the plaintiff a direct right to bring proceedings against the Republic and awarded him €10,000 as fair and reasonable compensation for the established violation of his right to a fair trial. However, it did not recognize any other right to compensation for harmful acts or omissions of the organs of the Republic.
In its judgment, the Supreme Court made it clear that the judgments of the ECtHR are binding on the States, and its findings on the violation of fundamental rights cannot be challenged a posteriori by national courts. In this way, he responded to the Legal Service, which raised through a cross-appeal, the issue of a retrial of the case that was judged at the ECtHR.
The Supreme Court rejected the Attorney General's cross-appeal, arguing that the District Court should have heard testimony again in order to "rediscover" on its own the violation of Article 6 of the Convention. "If this were the case," the Supreme Court notes, "we could reach the paradoxical point where a citizen wins a case at the ECtHR, has been recognized as having his rights violated, and ultimately there is no practical remedy, because a Cypriot court did not find 'enough testimony' for something that has already been judged."
Regarding the citizen's request for further compensation, the Supreme Court acknowledged that the violation of his right was committed during the interrogation stage, by the Police, acting within the framework of its duties and therefore the facts do indeed fall within the scope of Article 172 of the Constitution. The citizen was asking for compensation for his imprisonment, citing the physical and mental suffering he suffered.
The Supreme Court explained that compensation for deprivation of liberty can only be put up for discussion when the conviction has been annulled or overturned in any way. When the criminal conviction remains valid, detention is considered "lawful detention" based on a decision of a competent court, it was pointed out.
* * * * * *
The Police are investigating a case of theft of a large amount of money from a residence in Strovolos, following a citizen's complaint that €130,000 he had kept in his house disappeared.
According to information, the complainant, a pensioner who lives in the house with relatives and a domestic worker, recently realized the loss of the amount and notified the authorities.
The TAE of Nicosia has undertaken the investigation of the case, with the examinations in progress.
* * * * * *
Various prison sentences with the longest of 10 years were imposed today (10/12) by the Limassol Permanent Criminal Court on a 23-year-old defendant, who admitted charges of possession with the intent to supply other persons with cannabis weighing 11 kilograms and 740 grams (3rd category), illegal possession of the quantity in question (4th category), money laundering amounting to €4,500 (5th category), impersonation (7th category), forgery (8th category) and circulation of a forged document (9th category).
According to the announcement of the Limassol Permanent Criminal Court, the accused also faced charges of importing a quantity of cannabis and smoking a cannabis plant, which were suspended by the Attorney General in view of his admission to the above charges and therefore the prosecution for them was discontinued.
Specifically, the Criminal Court imposed a prison sentence of 10 years in the 3rd category, no sentence in the 4th category in view of the fact that the relevant events were included in the 3rd category, a sentence of 15 months in prison in the 5th category, a sentence of 9 months in prison in the 7th category, an 18-month prison sentence in the 9th category and no sentence in the 8th category in view of the sentence imposed in the 9th category
According to the facts examined before the Criminal Court, on 1.8.2025 a package containing cannabis was found in a branch of a courier company. On 2.8.2025, while members of the Police were at the place, it was found that the accused parked around the branch in question in order to have clear visual contact with it and after remaining inside his vehicle for 20 minutes he left. As he later reported, he was afraid to come down because there were enough people.
During the above, a second package of cannabis was found in another branch of the same company. A little later, the accused went to the branch in question and received the second package showing a fake ID. In a search that was later carried out at his home, with his written consent, various SIM cards were found, including those related to the contact numbers of the mentioned recipients of the above two packages as well as a third package, which also contained cannabis and was found in the same branch where the first package was found.
The accused admitted that he was aware of the existence of drugs in the specific packages, however, he was not the person who directed their imports but the person who would receive them. When interrogated, he stated that he informed at the behest of another person whom he met for the first time in Greece and for whom he stated that he only knew his first name. He also admitted that on 30.7.2025 he received another package without giving details as well as another package previously which was found to contain cannabis. He stated that he received a total amount of €4.500 from the person who gave him instructions, which concerned his living expenses, and that his fake identity had been sent to Cyprus by the person in question.
The accused, at his own request, indicated a point in an open area as the point where he left the drugs he received on 30.7.2025, but nothing was found.
In imposing the sentence, the Criminal Court emphasized the extreme seriousness of the offenses admitted by the accused as well as the need for a strict and dissuasive penalty due to the great spread and spread of drugs. The Criminal Court took into account the large amount of cannabis that the accused had in his possession for the purpose of supplying to third parties as well as the facts that he acted knowingly, voluntarily and for consideration, on the instructions of a third party while the case was not an isolated incident.
It was also taken into account that the Accused was in possession of a fake identity card, which he used when receiving the second package. It was also taken into account that the quantity of drugs had been divided into three packages, with different recipients and different contact details, elements which, depending on the number of sim cards found in his apartment, demonstrate on the one hand the organization behind the actions of the accused and on the other hand his own participation in a well-organized system of importing and distributing drugs. Although it was recognized that the accused was not the mastermind of the whole operation and his involvement was limited to the receipt for the purpose of transporting the three packages, it was considered that his role was essential, since he was a necessary link in drug trafficking.
For the benefit of the accused, his personal and family circumstances, his admission in combination with his apology, his clean criminal record and his good behaviour in the Central Prisons were taken into account. His cooperation with the Police Authorities and his intention to follow a rehabilitation program were of limited importance under the circumstances analyzed in the decision.
