A COUPLE OF ALLEGED TERRORISTS WERE DEPORTED FROM CYPRUS - Filenews 13/3 by Fanis Makridis
The couple who had been under arrest since February 26 and were suspected of terrorism offenses were deported yesterday as a present threat to the Republic of Cyprus.
The reason for a 28-year-old Azeri and a 27-year-old Estonian who had been in Cyprus since February 23 and were arrested three days later, due to suspicions that they were acting against Israeli interests on our island.
The two persons were in custody for 14 days, after relevant 5-day and 8-day detention orders had been issued. However, yesterday the Aliens and Immigration Service of the Police took the two persons to Larnaca airport, from where they boarded a flight to a European city with a final destination in Estonia.
It is obvious from this development that the Police did not collect evidence that justifies registering a case against them in a Criminal Court.
Questions, however, are raised about the whole case. These have to do with what the lawyers of the two persons allegedly claimed, but also with the positions of the Police.
More specifically, the 28-year-old Azeri and the 27-year-old Estonian were said to have reported to the Police on February 25 that two people were watching them. In fact, the position was put forward that they had called the emergency telephone number (112). A day later, however, they were arrested.
At the same time, according to the positions of the Police, confidential information put before it stated that the 28-year-old was an agent of Iran and was guided by the Revolutionary Guards. He appeared to have travelled to Iran twice in 2025, while his physical surveillance showed that he was photographing buildings of Israeli interests in Paphos (he went with the 27-year-old to Paphos, Limassol and Larnaca).
The information of the Police brought the two persons during their stay in Paphos, Limassol and Larnaca, to receive a large number of photos of specific places and from various perspectives. The investigators of the case are considering the possibility that they sent the photos to a link abroad.
In addition, classified information from the Cyprus Police linked the 28-year-old to a specific "mastermind" who had recruited other persons to carry out terrorist acts in favour of Iran's interests. The 28-year-old allegedly had the same operator as the 44-year-old Azeri with a British passport who was arrested on 21/6/2025 again in Cyprus and who is accused of terrorism and espionage. As "F" revealed on November 6 last year about the latter, British prosecuting authorities had submitted an official request to the Republic of Cyprus for cooperation in the case of the 44-year-old.
