Pafos Live 13 May 2026
A young woman from Romania was arrested last night for stealing a car. During her arrest, she fled and resisted.
According to the police, members of the Paphos OPE located half an hour after midnight, a car which had been declared stolen, on May 12, 2026 in Paphos.
For the case, testimony had emerged against a 27-year-old woman from Romania who lives in Paphos and a relevant arrest warrant was issued. The 27-year-old was seen shortly after midnight, boarding the stolen vehicle.
As soon as the members of the Police approached the car, the young woman disembarked and ran away. The woman was stopped by the police and allegedly resisted during her arrest.
Today she is expected to be taken to the Paphos court for the issuance of a detention order.
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A 45-year-old resident of Limassol was arrested yesterday afternoon by virtue of a court warrant and taken into custody, to facilitate investigations into four cases of burglary and theft in Limassol, committed between October 2021 and August, 2024.
Specifically, these are shop burglaries and thefts committed in Limassol, during which property was stolen, the total value of which exceeds €31,000.
During the investigation of the above cases, testimony had emerged that implicated the 45-year-old, against whom an arrest warrant had been issued and was wanted by the Police.
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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 persons were arrested, for various offenses including burglary of a building and theft, malicious damage, theft of a car and illegal stay on the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
During the night, 364 vehicles were stopped for inspection and 512 drivers and passengers were checked. At the same time, 36 inspections of premises were carried out, from which 5 complaints emerged.
During traffic checks carried out, 200 complaints were made about various traffic violations, of which 87 concern driving at excessive speed. A total of 99 alcohol tests were carried out during which three drivers were found positive. Also, as part of the police examinations, five vehicles were 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 has been receiving complaints in recent days, in relation to a young person who was observed asking for money from passers-by in various areas of Nicosia. The complaints that our website has before it, go hand in hand with reports of content creators on social media, since the same pattern is detected.
The complaints concern a Greek Cypriot young man, who is asking for the amount of €20 in cash with the excuse that his car broke down and needs it immediately. He also reportedly pledges to return the money - he or a friend - at a later stage, via Revolut. In none of the cases was the refund made.
This person seems to be operating in various areas of Nicosia, since incidents were recorded in the center of the capital, in Latsia and Strovolos. In two of the cases, he allegedly asked for the money to pay for the taxi that would take him home. In another case, he allegedly asked for the €20, claiming that he had to pay for Roadside Assistance and the trailer that received his car.
Common points in all reports are that he is a young Greek Cypriot who appears upset - sweaty and always asks for the amount of €20 exactly in cash, with the excuse that his car "broke down".
Filenews, after concluding that this was an action with a very specific pattern, informed the Police so that the case could be investigated.
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The immediate release of an asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of Congo was ordered by the Supreme Court, ruling that his 15-month detention for deportation purposes has exceeded the reasonable time and has become illegal and unjustified, as there is no longer a realistic prospect of his removal from the Republic of Cyprus.
In the decision issued on May 8, 2026 by Judge I. Ioannidis, the Court accepted an application for a Habeas Corpus order submitted by the 27-year-old, who had been detained in HOKAM Menogeia since February 12, 2025.
According to the facts of the case, the applicant had entered Cyprus illegally, however he presented himself to the competent authorities and submitted an asylum application in July 2022. He remained free and worked in Paphos until November 2024, when his application was considered implicitly withdrawn.
The applicant was arrested in February 2025, when he visited the Paphos Aliens and Immigration Service to find out why he had lost his status as an applicant for international protection. The next day, detention and deportation orders were issued against him.
He then submitted a request to reopen his file, which was accepted in March 2025. The Court noted that his reinstatement to the status of an applicant for international protection annulled the original detention order and a new order was issued under the Refugee Law, while the deportation order was suspended. The asylum application was later rejected and the applicant registered an appeal, which is still pending.
The applicant argued before the Court that the continuation of his detention was "illegal, unjustified and abusive", as there was no real prospect of his deportation while his appeal was pending.
The Supreme Court reiterated that the Habeas Corpus procedure is the pre-eminent means of reviewing the legality of prolonged detention and underlined that the freedom of the individual is a supreme good in a state governed by the rule of law.
The Court noted that the applicant never concealed his identity or country of origin and that the authorities knew his real details from the beginning. At the same time, he pointed out that the pending nature of his appeal makes his deportation impossible, at this stage.
The Court held that detention of approximately 15 months cannot be regarded as negligible, particularly since there is currently no prospect of his removal from the country. The decision makes extensive reference to previous case law of the Supreme Court and the ECtHR, according to which detention for deportation purposes is allowed only for as long as the authorities act with due diligence to implement the removal.
"The freedom of the individual is the highest good that must be guaranteed in any democratic society," the decision states.
In conclusion, the Court held that the continued detention of the applicant now exceeded the reasonable period of time and ordered his immediate release. At the same time, it ordered the applicant to pay the costs and the costs of an interpreter to the detriment of the Republic of Cyprus.
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In a decision with important implications for the limits of police powers and the need to protect privacy, the Supreme Court annulled a decree for the mandatory taking of DNA, fingerprints and photographs of an arson suspect, ruling that the Nicosia District Court did not adequately justify why the measure was necessary and proportionate, but essentially acted as a "seal" of the Police's requests.
The case concerned a man from Nicosia, who was arrested on February 20, 2026 on suspicion of arson and refused to consent to the taking of biometric data and photos. The Police appealed to the Nicosia District Court, which on February 24 issued a decree allowing the mandatory collection of this information, pursuant to Article 25 of the Police Laws.
The applicant appealed to the Supreme Court requesting the issuance of a privileged Certiorari order for the annulment of the decree, arguing that the lower court acted mechanistically, without making its own judicial assessment of the necessity and proportionality of the measure.
In his decision, Judge C. Malachtos pointed out that, according to European and Cypriot law, the forced collection of biometric and genetic data is allowed only when it is "absolutely necessary" and after the court has examined specific elements, such as the nature and seriousness of the offense, the circumstances of the case, the existence of reasonable suspicion and whether the measure is proportionate.
The Supreme Court noted that, although the testimony that had been placed before the District Court could objectively justify the issuance of the decree, there was no record in the decree itself that the judge was actually satisfied that the taking of the evidence was necessary and proportionate.
In particular, the decree at issue was limited to the phrase that the judge "read the application and the affidavit" and then "ordered" the taking of the swabs, fingerprints and photographs.
The Supreme Court said that the absence of an explicit judicial judgment creates uncertainty as to whether the lower court exercised its own independent assessment or whether it acted as a "rubber stamp" of the positions of the Police. He even referred to previous case law, according to which the judge must justify that he has satisfied himself with the necessity of such a measure, especially when it affects constitutionally guaranteed rights, such as the right to privacy.
The Court emphasized that it is only if such a finding is made, that the lower court acquires the power to issue a relevant decree. Otherwise, its issuance is considered to have been done in excess of authority.
As a result, the Supreme Court granted the application and issued a Privileged Warrant of Certiorari, annulling the decree of 24 February 2026. At the same time, it awarded the costs in favour of the applicant and against the Republic.
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A reversal in the middle of the hearing occurred today (13/5) before the Permanent Criminal Court of Limassol, where the continuation of the double brutal murder of Andreas Kouzoupis and his 38-year-old Slovak friend, David Chmelar, was set. The two men were killed on July 30, 2024 and found charred on a dirt road in the Listovounos area, in the Limassol district.
And while the trial had entered an advanced stage, since 10 prosecution witnesses had already testified and important testimonies had been heard about the case, the second defendant, who until recently claimed to have attended the murder of the two men as a spectator, today wanted to change his attitude and admit the most serious charges he faces, specifically the two premeditated murders.
In fact, his lawyer pointed out that her client offers to testify as a prosecution witness against the first defendant. Following the above development, the Criminal Court gave permission to change the answer and the Prosecuting Authority, represented by the Senior Lawyer of the Republic Andreas Aristidis, again accused the second defendant of the two charges of premeditated murder, which he admitted.
Subsequently, Mr. Aristides asked the Criminal Court for time to consider whether the second defendant will be called as a prosecution witness in the proceedings, in which case he will be sentenced and then the hearing for the first defendant will continue. On the other hand, if the Prosecuting Authority does not make use of the testimony of the 2nd defendant, the case will be tried for the 1stdefendant and the sentence for the 2nd defendant will be imposed when the entire process is completed.
According to the case law of the Supreme Court, the best practice is to impose a sentence on one co-accused before the case is concluded for the other, only in cases where he will be called as a prosecution witness.
The case was rescheduled for 29 June 2026, in order to decide from a practical point of view how the proceedings will continue in view of this new development. It should be noted that the relatives of the accused, after the end of the hearing and outside the courtroom, strongly expressed their dissatisfaction with the new development.
It is recalled that on 19/3, the sergeant of the Limassol Police Department, Nikola Papanikolaou, who was called as a witness in the case, read the testimony of the 2nd defendant who claimed that the 1st defendant sent him a message to go for a hare, claiming that he was a spectator at the murder of the two victims. Specifically, he also said that "while we were going to Parekklisia, Petros spoke to someone on the phone and told him that we would go fishing, but he would have another one with him, but first we would play some hare with his priest's sipetto. When we got off, Petros set up the sipetto and put the fusiekkia in it. Then he told me to shine on the trees as well. I heard that someone called him and Petros told him "we are here waiting for you".
According to the testimony of the 2nd defendant, after 20 minutes at the place, a car with two people arrived. "They stopped, two people got off and P.... Without saying anything, he fired. I turned my head and saw the passenger who fell to the ground. Immediately, P.... He also shot the driver and he crashed into the car. I shouted "hey, what are you doing?" and Petros told me "shut up and catch us". I sat in P's car... in the passenger seat, because I was too scared and trembling. From where I was sitting, I could see the back of their car, and I saw P.... grabbing the passenger and putting him in the back seat, put the driver in the car through the driver's door and pushed him into the passenger seat. I realized that they were both dead. P... Then he lowered the parking brake of the car, pushed it with his foot and the car rolled down. Then he came into the car and told me "they fell off the cliff". I told him "it doesn't matter that you played them, did you drag them over the cliff?". He told me "your job, my job".
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in-cyprus
Police have launched a search operation following reports that a father illegally entered the government-controlled areas from the occupied north to abduct his minor child.
The incident has triggered an alert across law enforcement agencies after the child’s mother filed an official complaint with the Limassol Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
According to the report provided to authorities, the father, a Turkish Cypriot and former partner of the complainant, is alleged to have crossed the Green Line illegally.
He then travelled to Limassol, where the child resides with the mother, and took the minor before disappearing to an unknown location.
Police investigators are currently conducting extensive enquiries and searches to locate both the father and the child.
No further details regarding the age of the child or the specific point of entry used by the father have been released at this stage as the investigation remains in progress.
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Primary school pupils in the north-eastern part of Limassol district removed safety hammers, abused the driver and forced a school bus to stop mid-route on Thursday, May 7 — an incident that appears to mark the first time primary-age children have triggered a safety halt on a Cyprus school bus.
Previous serious incidents on school buses had involved secondary and lyceum pupils. This time, according to Petros Theocharides, Development and Communications Director of EMEL, the pupils also moved around near the driver in a disruptive manner, hit the seats, and blocked the escort’s attempts to restore order. Neither the escort nor the driver could bring the situation under control, and the driver followed safety protocol and stopped the bus.
A state supervisory authority representative was called and eventually managed to calm the situation. “After considerable effort, he managed to calm the pupils down — some of whom questioned his authority and offered various justifications for their behaviour,” Theocharides said.
What followed compounded the incident: some parents argued that both the driver and the supervisory representative had been too strict. “Some parents expressed their intention to report the supervisor to higher authorities and make complaints on social media,” Theocharides added.
The driver refused to work the same route again. Under current protocol, if a similar incident recurs, the route will be suspended for safety reasons. The school’s headmaster and parent association members were informed and intervened, and routes are now running partially normally.
Theocharides said a key problem persisted: on stretches of the route passing through narrow or dangerous rural roads, young pupils stand up, refuse to wear seatbelts and move around inside the bus while it is in motion.
