Filenews 8 May 2026
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.
The result of the preventive police operations was the arrest of five (5) persons for various offenses, such as burglary, illegal stay and traffic offenses, non-appearance in court, etc.
As part of these operations, during the night, 349 drivers and 101 passengers were stopped and checked. At the same time, 33 inspections of premises were carried out, with the aim of dealing with phenomena of delinquency, where ten (10) complaints emerged.
During traffic checks carried out, 178 complaints were made, concerning various traffic violations, while 5 investigated cases of traffic violations also emerged.
Of the complaints made, 97 complaints from drivers for exceeding the speed limit stand out, while in the context of the police examinations, three (3) vehicles were detained.
63 alcohol tests were also carried out, while after relevant checks, two drivers were found positive for a drug test.
Coordinated policing operations, for the prevention and suppression of crime, continue daily, with an increased/enhanced police presence, targeted controls and immediate operational action, with the aim of increasing the sense of security of citizens/protecting citizens and ensuring public order.
* * * * * *
The Police proceeded to arrest a 50-year-old person, who illegally entered a premises in Limassol and burglary tools were found in his possession.
Members of the Police around 8:30 pm yesterday, as part of investigating relevant information, went to a specific property, where they found a 50-year-old man on the roof, who had been immobilized by the security guard.
A bag containing various burglary tools, as well as two hoods, was found in the possession of the 50-year-old.
The 50-year-old was arrested for a self-inflicted crime and taken into custody, while today he is expected to appear before a Court for the issuance of a detention order.
The Limassol Minor Offenses Department continues the examinations.
* * * * * *
As part of coordinated actions by the Anti-Narcotics Service to detect and seize narcotic substances, members of YKAN in collaboration with members of the Customs Department, located in the previous days, in a courier company, a package containing cannabis with a gross weight of four kilograms and 380 grams.
As part of the investigation of the case, yesterday, 07/05/2026, during a coordinated operation, members of YKAN arrested a 26-year-old man.
In a subsequent search, a quantity of cannabis with a gross weight of three kilograms and 400 grams, as well as eight mobile phones, were found in the home of the 26-year-old and confiscated.
The 26-year-old is expected to appear before the Nicosia District Court today for the issuance of a detention order.
* * * * * *
Incidents took place on Thursday night at the "Nikos Solomonides" Sports Center in Limassol, during the futsal match between AEL and APOEL, resulting in the interruption of the match and the arrest of a person, the Police said in their announcement.
According to the data under examination, shortly before the end of the match, fans of the home team started throwing objects and firecrackers inside the field.
Subsequently, a number of fans entered the field, as a result of which the referee permanently stopped the match.
Members of the Police intervened to enforce and restore order, while tear gas was used.
The incidents continued outside the stadium, with stones, objects and firecrackers being thrown.
During the incidents, members of the Police proceeded to arrest a 19-year-old from Limassol for spontaneous offenses. The arrested man allegedly participated in the incidents and threw objects at police officers, while during his arrest he resisted.
The incidents caused slight damage to five vehicles, which were parked in the parking lot of the stadium.
The examinations continue from the TAE of Limassol.
* * * * * *
An illegal business with fake leases is said to have been set up by 9 young students from Bangladesh, who were based in the free area of Famagusta. The Police speak of the dismantling of a gang that supplied foreigners with the fake documents in order to present them to the Aliens and Immigration Service.
The arrested are alleged to have drawn up forged rental documents using fake stamps of the Republic of Cyprus and to supply them, for a fee, to their compatriots. They then presented them to the Famagusta Aliens and Immigration Service, in order to secure registration as students in Cyprus.
According to information from filenews from police sources, for each forged rental document, the members of the spiral received from €100 to €250. The investigations of the investigators of the case found that such documents were sold to at least 10 students from Bangladesh, who attend various colleges throughout Cyprus.
The Famagusta Police Department received information about the fraud and after investigating the case, arrested between the dates 17 – 28/4/2026 a large number of persons, nine of whom will be held accountable before Justice, while some others will be used as prosecution witnesses.
A case was registered against the nine defendants before the Famagusta District Court on April 28. The Court ordered that they all remain in custody until the start of their trial which will begin on May 15, 2026.
* * * * * *
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a conviction against the Republic of Cyprus yesterday, ruling that the Applicant's right to a fair trial, as enshrined in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, was violated.
The case concerns the absence of effective judicial review regarding the decision not to promote Costas Konstantinou to the position of President of the District Court. According to what was raised before the Court, Mr. Constantinou claimed that he was deprived of access to justice, as he did not have the opportunity to challenge the decision of the transitional Supreme Judicial Council in court.
The ECtHR, by a majority of six votes in favour and one against, ruled in favour of Mr. Constantinou, finding a violation of his right to a fair trial and essentially overturning the previous unanimous decision of the plenary session of the Supreme Constitutional Court, which at the time in question was acting as the Cassation Appellate Judicial Council.
Although the European Court of Justice did not award compensation for non-pecuniary damage, it held that the very finding of the violation constitutes sufficient fair satisfaction for Costas Constantinou. At the same time, he awarded in his favour the amount of €13,887.60 for lawyers' fees and other expenses.
The decision is considered particularly important for the Cypriot legal order, as it is the first conviction of the Republic of Cyprus by the ECtHR in a case concerning the judiciary after the reforms in the judicial system and the re-establishment of the Supreme Constitutional Court.
It is noted that the decision does not become final before the lapse of three months from the date of its issuance. Until then, the parties involved reserve the right to request that the case be referred to the Extended Chamber of the ECtHR.
* * * * * *
The two police officers, who were accused of subjecting an Iranian man to torture (1st category), cruel and degrading treatment (2nd category) and causing actual bodily harm (3rd category), were also acquitted. In yesterday's (7/5) decision, the Limassol Court acquitted and acquitted the 2nd defendant from the prima facie stage of the proceedings, noting that the testimony did not show sufficient evidence of personal involvement in acts of violence or ill-treatment. On the other hand, the 1st defendant was summoned by the Court to apologize regarding charges 2 and 3 and was finally acquitted after the completion of the proceedings by the defense, after making an unsworn statement before the court, which was taken into account in the evaluation of the evidence.
The Court's prima facie decision was based on the fact that there was no evidence of a specific purpose for the offence of torture. Therefore, both defendants were completely acquitted of the 1st charge attributed to them.
According to the complainant, he claimed that on September 9, 2016, the accused police officers went to his house, where he lives with his wife, in the context of a family dispute that arose with relatives of his wife and entered his house. He claimed that the 1st defendant showed aggressive behaviour, forced him to sit in a chair and restricted his freedom of movement, insulted him with references to country, religion and nationality, beat him and threw water in his face and, then, after handcuffing him, placed him in a patrol vehicle. He then claimed that during his stay at the Police Station, the 1st defendant continued to show insulting and degrading behaviour towards him, mainly on a verbal level. As for the 2nd defendant, the complainant was limited to a general presence and participation in the police intervention, without attributing specific acts of violence to him.
A criminal investigator, appointed by AADIPA, was called and testified as a witness in the case. In his testimony, he referred to the investigative actions, including the testimonies of the complainant, the accused and other persons, as well as the collection of medical and forensic evidence. He limited himself to presenting the investigative material, as he did not have a direct perception of the facts.
The defendants were represented by lawyers Maria Neophytou and Theodoulos Papavassiliou.
* * * * * *
Nineteen years after a traffic accident occurred in Limassol in 2007, the Supreme Court put an end to the legal dispute, rejecting the appeal of a driver and an insurance company and upholding damages in favour of a motorcyclist who was seriously injured.
The traffic accident occurred on November 19, 2007 on Miltonos Street, when a car driven by the appellant collided with a motorcycle driven by the respondent. The latter had filed a lawsuit with the Limassol District Court, claiming general and special damages from the driver and her insurance company.
According to the findings of the Court of First Instance, which were upheld by the Supreme Court, the motorcyclist was moving normally on the road when he saw the driver's vehicle lying obliquely on the road. Attempting to overtake it from the right, the car moved sharply towards its lane, cutting off its course. Despite his attempt to brake, the collision was not avoided.
The Court of First Instance had attributed 75% of the responsibility to the driver, ruling that she made a dangerous manoeuvre without ensuring that she could carry it out safely. The motorcyclist was charged with 25% concurrent negligence, on the grounds that he could have predicted a possible right-hand turn of the vehicle, as it was moving slowly and had a right turn signal activated.
The appellants argued before the Supreme Court that the Court of First Instance incorrectly assessed the testimony, that the speed of the motorcycle was much higher than 50 kilometers per hour and that a higher percentage of responsibility should be attributed to the motorcyclist. They also questioned the credibility of an eyewitness and the award of damages for future interventions and loss of income.
The Supreme Court, with a unanimous decision of Judges Chr. Malachtou, I. Ioannidis and A. David, held that there was no reason to interfere with the reliability findings and findings of the Court of First Instance. As noted in the decision, the objective evidence of the scene, including the blueprints and the testimony of the police examiner, confirmed that the driver's vehicle had entered the opposite lane creating a dangerous situation.
The Court also rejected the claim that the eyewitness's testimony was fabricated, pointing out that the fact that she was identified at a later stage does not in itself undermine her credibility.
In relation to the compensations, the Supreme Court considered it correct to award an amount for future surgeries, accepting the testimony of the attending physician that the injury to the elbow had caused the destruction of articular cartilage and the inevitable development of osteoarthritis, with a possible need for future operations.
At the same time, the award of compensation for loss of income and reduced income capacity was ratified. The Court noted that, although it had not been established that the respondent had a stable professional activity as a builder, there was sufficient evidence that he could work in manual work, a possibility which was substantially reduced after the accident.
The Court of First Instance had awarded a total of €33,750 for general damages, €16,914 for special compensations, €22,500 for loss of future income and €10,500 for future interventions, plus interest and expenses.
The Supreme Court rejected the appeal in its entirety and awarded the respondent costs of €4,000 plus VAT, if any.
* * * * * *
The investigators of the TAE Morphou are waiting for answers from the scientific examinations in relation to the human bones found on Wednesday in the community of Treis Elies in the Limassol district, at a distance of about 100 meters from the community cemetery.
The scene remained cordoned off until noon, while the investigators proceeded with specific on-site examinations. According to our information, the examiners of the case received statements from various persons, residents of the community in an attempt to clear up the mystery surrounding the location of the bones.
As Filenews wrote yesterday, this is a section of the jaw and ribs. An anthropologist was also informed about the incident, who at first glance found that they were the bones of an elderly man.
In addition to the scientific examinations that will be carried out on the bones, information states that relatives of deceased who were buried in the cemetery a few years ago will be asked to give a sample of genetic material. One of the most prevalent possibilities being considered is that the bones were exhumed from a cemetery grave as part of the burial process of another body and were not re-placed in the grave. For the time being, as he duly told us, the TAE of Morphou is investigating all possibilities.
* * * * * *
Surprised and during a break, students and teachers at a school in Paphos watched an unprecedented situation unfold in front of them for many minutes. Three cleaners of the school in question were literally caught red-handed for an as yet unknown reason, with the incident being recorded by dozens of mobile phones before this unacceptable situation ended with the intervention of the teachers.
The episode began with verbal attacks and insults between the three women from both sides and ended in handcuffs.
Immediately after the incident ended, one of the three cleaners went to the Paphos Police Department where she filed a complaint against her two colleagues for assaulting her and verbally abusing her.
The unprecedented incident has already been brought before the Ministry of Education and the Paphos School Board, which are conducting further investigations.
* * * * * *
A farmer was arrested around 11:00 in the morning in Kofinou for attacking officials of the Veterinary Services.
The latter, accompanied by members of the Police, had gone to the arrested man's livestock unit to take samples from animals, as part of the controls to contain foot-and-mouth disease.
The breeder, however, did not accept it and reacted strongly. As he duly reported to us, he attacked the two officers and was immediately arrested by the Police for a self-inflicted offense.
Immediately afterwards, the arrested person was taken to the relevant police station.
For the time being, there is no information about any injuries from the incident.
