Pafos Live 30 April 2026
An 84-year-old man was sentenced to 14 months in prison suspended for three years for last year's fire in the community of Dymes in Limassol, which burned six dozen pine trees and wild vegetation, while also threatening a state forest.
The 84-year-old was accused that on 22.7.2025, at the location "Dexameni", west of the village of Dymes, in the Limassol District, while performing work using an electric emery, he acted in a reckless or reckless manner and failed to take the necessary precautions to prevent a fire, resulting in a fire within a zone of two kilometers from the demarcation line of the state forest.
According to the decision, causing a fire within a zone of two kilometers from the demarcation line of a state forest is an offense and is punishable by a prison sentence not exceeding 12 years or a fine not exceeding €100,000.
According to the facts reported, on 22.7.2025, and at about 13:30, a fire was noticed in a forest area, at the location "Dexameni" in the area of Dymes, Limassol District. Eight firefighters from the Forestry Department, four from the Fire Service and four aircraft assisted in the extinguishing. At 12:45, after six dozen of the pines and wild vegetation, as well as arable land, were burned, a member of the Department of Forests, the head of the forest officials as well as the Fire Service went to the scene to conduct the examinations.
From the examinations they carried out, it emerged that the source of the fire was in an open area next to the residence of the accused, who was engaged in cutting sheet metal with emery. The defendant then, at their request, indicated both the point at which he was engaged in cutting the sheet metal and the electric emery, which was received as evidence. He was taken to the Agros Police Station where he made a voluntary statement, in which he confessed to committing the offense, was accused in writing, after his attention was drawn to the law, and replied "sorry, I was wrong, I had no intention of causing a fire".
In determining the sentence, the Court took into account the immediate admission of his act and his cooperation with the Authorities, facts that demonstrate sincere remorse and acceptance of his responsibility, elements that substantially reduce the need for special prevention. Furthermore, his personal circumstances, including the recent loss of a close relative, make the actual serving of the prison sentence particularly onerous and disproportionate to the aim pursued.
The Court, after pointing out the seriousness of the offense starting from the maximum sentence provided for by law of 12 years/144 months and classifying the offense at a medium level of seriousness, and taking into account all the aforementioned mitigating factors, to the maximum extent possible, the Court reached a sentence of 14 months in prison which it suspended for three years.
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Filenews
The presence and action of the Police last night was intense, throughout Cyprus, with organized patrols in key points of urban areas, with the aim of preventing serious criminal acts, ensuring public order and increasing the sense of security of the public.
As a result of the preventive policing operations, six people were arrested, for various offenses, including fighting and carrying knives.
During the night, 309 vehicles were stopped for inspection and 368 drivers and passengers were checked. At the same time, 34 inspections of premises were carried out, from which four complaints emerged.
During traffic checks carried out, 187 complaints were made about various traffic violations, of which 78 concern driving at excessive speed. A total of 61 alcohol tests were carried out without a positive result, while one driver was found positive in a preliminary drug test. Also, as part of the police examinations, a vehicle was detained.
Coordinated policing operations, for the prevention and suppression of crime, continue daily, with an enhanced police presence, targeted controls and immediate operational action, in order to protect citizens and ensure public order.
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Filenews
A 54-year-old foreign prisoner, who was detained in Central Prisons for a case of premeditated murder committed in August 2025 in Paphos, with a 34-year-old woman as the victim, died late last night at Nicosia General Hospital.
The 54-year-old had been hospitalized for the last few days, after surgery he had undergone.
The detainee in question was under constant medical supervision and received the necessary nursing and medical care from the competent services.
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The Permanent Criminal Court of Famagusta today (30/4) imposed a 10-year prison sentence on a 24-year-old man from Bulgaria, who last August stabbed an 18-year-old in a restaurant in the Kappari area of Paralimni.
The 24-year-old was found guilty, after his own admission, of charges concerning, among other things, intentionally causing grievous bodily harm, carrying an offensive organ and concern. On the night of August 16, 2025, the accused went to the restaurant in order to ask for money from a friend of his sister who worked in the area. The 18-year-old, son of the owner of the restaurant, asked him to leave the place and after a while he returned and stabbed the 18 year old in front of the patrons. The victim was injured in the kidney and was hospitalized.
It is noted that the 24-year-old was spotted half an hour later walking around in his underwear in an area in Paralimni. He was initially arrested for the spontaneous offenses of causing concern, public nuisance and disturbing the peace, since when police officers approached him he started shouting. He was then linked to the injury of the 18-year-old in Paralimni.
The Court took into account as aggravating factors the seriousness of the offences, the circumstances of the commission and the criminal record of the accused, who had previous convictions for similar offences.
It is noted that the 24-year-old had been released from prison just two days before the incident in question. In its decision, the Criminal Court underlined "the need to prevent the use of force and protect society, stressing that such offenses violate fundamental rights and create a sense of insecurity among citizens".
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The one and only charge he faces was admitted today, Thursday (30/4), by the 42-year-old defendant in the case of the attack against the Lawyer of the Republic, which took place on Friday, April 3.
The Criminal Court, after this development, set the case for reporting facts and imposing a sentence. Earlier, before the indictment, the Court approved his defense's request for legal aid, according to the Welfare Office report. The case was set for May 15, at 9:30 a.m., while in today's proceedings no apology was made on the part of the accused.
The 42-year-old faces the offense of causing grievous bodily harm, which, according to Article 231 of the Penal Code (Chapter 154), provides that "anyone who unlawfully causes grievous bodily harm to another is guilty of a felony and is subject to seven years' imprisonment or a fine or both".
According to the facts of the case, the accused, after being sentenced to four years in a case of abduction of his ex-partner and after the departure of the three-member court, allegedly said from his seat in the dock: "Four years for two pats?". Subsequently, as he left the room and while he was accompanied by two members of the MMAD, he attacked the Lawyer of the Republic, causing her a fractured nose and swelling of the upper lip.
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The Police arrested a person a while ago regarding the throwing last Monday of mobile phones and chargers inside the closed prison using a drone.
The Nicosia Police Department, evaluating information and evidence that came into the possession of investigators, proceeded to issue an arrest warrant for a Greek Cypriot resident of Nicosia, which was executed yesterday. Investigations are currently underway to identify evidence that may be related to the case.
The arrest of the suspect was made on the basis of some indications that emerged immediately after the complaint from the Prison management about the throwing and locating of the illegal objects. The arrested person has not yet been questioned, while the evaluation of the testimony will show whether he will be brought before a court to request his detention or whether he will be released.
The drone that flew over the prison was detected by the anti-drone system which was installed some time ago and put into operation 48 hours earlier. As it turned out, through the drone, three mobile phones and three chargers that had been placed in a ball were thrown into the courtyard of the wing. The system immediately detected the drone and the dropped objects were picked up by prison guards.
As announced, the system installed in the Central Prisons provides the ability to locate the location from which the drone was put into operation and that is why members of the TAE Nicosia carried out tests that brought some results.
Investigations are also being carried out on mobile phone sellers so that through serial numbers it can be determined where they were sold from and to whom. In addition to the anti-drone system, another system is operating in the prisons that detects any mobile phone signal, while a third system will be installed that will cut off the mobile phone signal above the prison. As it became known, convicts give huge sums of money to obtain a mobile phone in prisons in order to have contact with associates outside and in several cases it was found that crimes were committed on instructions from the cells.
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With three conflicting versions of the same accident at work and a testimony full of contradictions, the Court of Appeal closed the door on a builder's appeal, leaving him not only without compensation, but also facing legal costs. Specifically, with a unanimous decision issued by the Court of Appeal, the appeal of an employee against a contractor company was rejected, confirming the first-instance judgment that had rejected a claim for compensation for an alleged accident at work.
The case concerned the appellant's allegations that, while working as a builder on a construction site, he was seriously injured when he fell down a ladder in the performance of his duties. For its part, the company denied both the occurrence of the accident under the circumstances described and any negligence, arguing that if there was an accident it was due to the fault of the employee himself.
The court of first instance had dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiff did not present reliable testimony about the facts of his injury. In particular, he considered the testimony of himself and his key witnesses unreliable, while accepting as reliable the testimony of a person who had taken testimonies about the incident. A decisive role in this judgment was played by the contradictions and different versions put forward by the plaintiff in relation to the way he was injured.
The appellant challenged the decision, arguing, inter alia, that the court of first instance did not reach a clear conclusion as to the causes of the injury, that it incorrectly assessed the testimony and that it incorrectly handled a specific presumption of the accident.
The Court of Appeal, giving priority to the issue of the evaluation of testimony, reiterated the jurisprudential principle that the assessment of the credibility of witnesses belongs primarily to the court of first instance, which has the ability to directly monitor their conduct. He stressed that intervention is allowed only in cases of obvious error or arbitrary judgment, something that was not established in the present case.
According to the judgment, the court of first instance correctly found substantial contradictions between the appellant's written version and his testimony in court, but also between his different statements on other occasions. Indicatively, three different versions emerged of how the accident happened: that the ladder broke while working on it, that it broke while going down, and that it broke a step while climbing.
The Court of Appeal also agreed that the overall picture of the appellant's testimony was negatively affected by contradictions on individual issues, as well as by the way in which he responded during the examination, deeming the assessment of the court of first instance of unreliability reasonable.
Regarding the claim that there was no contrary testimony from the company, the Court of Appeal underlined that the absence of such testimony does not relieve the plaintiff of the burden of proving his case. The court must evaluate the testimony submitted and determine whether it is sufficient and reliable, regardless of the attitude of the other side.
In relation to the disputed presumption concerning the recording of the circumstances of the accident, the Court of Appeal held that, even if there were issues as to its completion, these did not decisively affect the final judgment, which was based on the overall assessment of the testimony.
In conclusion, the Court of Appeal ruled that all grounds of appeal were unfounded and upheld the first instance decision. The appeal was dismissed, with the appellant being ordered to pay costs of €4,000 plus VAT in favour of the company.
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Important developments took place in the much-praised drug contraband case in Limassol, as the defendants today (30/4), pleaded guilty before the Limassol Permanent Criminal Court to the most serious charges they face, drastically changing the facts of the case. This development essentially paves the way for the completion of the case for 3 of the 4 defendants, which had been pending for a long time due to successive postponements.
This is the case of the large amount of drugs found after a coordinated operation by YKAN Headquarters in November 2024, in the parking lot of a beach hotel in Limassol. A search followed at the home of the 36-year-old defendant from Nicosia, where another 7 kilograms of cannabis were found.
During today's proceedings before the Limassol Criminal Court, the 50-year-old businessman admitted the charge of possession of 5 kilograms of cocaine, as well as the possession of almost 5 kilograms of cannabis. The 36-year-old defendant from Nicosia admitted the charges of supplying 5 kilograms of cocaine and 5 kilograms of cannabis, while he also admitted the charges of possession and possession with the purpose of supplying another 7 kilograms of cannabis, which were found in his home.
For her part, the 34-year-old defendant and employee of the 50-year-old admitted to possession of 11,15 grams of cannabis found in her residence, while the 51-year-old defendant admitted the charge of possession of a controlled drug, specifically 137,3 grams of cannabis.
Following this development, the representative of the prosecution requested that the rest of the charges faced by the 50-year-old, the 36-year-old and the 34-year-old be discontinued. At the same time, the case will be led to a hearing regarding the 51-year-old, fourth defendant. After the 34-year-old's admission, she was released on restrictive conditions, after months of detention as a prisoner in the Central Prison. The case was set for presentation of facts and imposition of sentence at the end of May.
It is recalled that the three defendants were caught in the act of carrying out drug contrabands outside the parking lot of a beach hotel in Agios Tychonas. The indictment of the much-praised case includes 20 charges. In addition to the 10 kilograms of drugs found during the arrest of the three, 7 packages of cannabis with a total weight of 7 kilograms were found in the premises of the 36-year-old in the province of Nicosia, while 5 bags of cannabis with a total weight of 140 grams were found in a second premises. The 51-year-old was linked to the drug case after his DNA was found on the drug packages.
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After admitting to indecent assault on a man in Ayia Napa, a British citizen attempted to overturn his conviction citing confusion and a lack of understanding of the charges he admitted, however the Court of Appeal put the brakes on his application for an extension of the time for filing an appeal against his conviction, ruling that his claims are not convincing and that there is no sufficient basis for the appeal to have a chance of success.
The case concerns a conviction imposed by the Famagusta District Court on November 17, 2025, after the defendant admitted to a series of offenses, with the most serious being that of indecent assault on a man. The incident took place in Ayia Napa on November 14, 2025, while the sentence imposed was nine months in prison with a suspended sentence.
The applicant appealed to the Court of Appeal on 23 December 2025, seeking permission to file an appeal against his conviction late. He claimed that he did not understand the nature of the charges nor did he intend to admit them, citing, inter alia, confusion, psychological pressure and inadequate legal guidance during the proceedings.
According to his claims, at the time of the events in question he had consumed a large amount of alcohol and did not remember the incidents, while he expressed suspicions that he may have accepted a substance in his drink. He also stated that he was incompletely informed by his lawyer, who allegedly asked him to translate the indictment himself and answer the questions in court in the affirmative after a nod.
The applicant also claimed that he was in a state of shock, fear and confusion during the proceedings, while noting that, despite the presence of an interpreter, he was unable to fully understand the accusations. After the sentence was imposed, he considered that the case had ended due to the suspension, without realizing the further consequences.
As he said, he only realized the seriousness of the situation when he was informed by the UK authorities that, due to his conviction for a sexual offence and the sentence imposed, he would be entered on the register of sex offenders. This fact, according to him, led him to a severe psychological breakdown and prompted him to seek legal advice in Cyprus.
The Court of Appeal, examining the application in the light of the relevant case law and the applicable legislation, held that the applicant's allegations do not prove that he did not understand the nature of the charges or that he did not intend to admit them. Particular reference was made to the fact that he was charged in the presence of an interpreter, while he had legal representation at his disposal.
The Court also noted that the applicant's reference to difficulty in understanding a written text is not sufficiently substantiated. In addition, his professional status as a flight attendant and his actions after the conviction were found to be incompatible with the allegation of incomprehensibility.
The Court of Appeal also took into account the speech of the applicant's lawyer during the first instance proceedings, during which there was talk of remorse and acceptance of the acts on the part of the accused, an element that strengthened the assessment that the admission was conscious.
In conclusion, the Court held that the proposed appeal would have no chance of success and therefore rejected the application for an extension of its registration time, without further examining the reasons for delay invoked by the applicant.
