The investigative work on the terrorism case and the alleged Hamas network operating in Cyprus is at an advanced stage.
That is why today a case will be registered in the Larnaca District Court against the four arrested - aged 32, 38, 54 and 57 - and the process of referring it to the Permanent Criminal Court of the city will follow.
The information of "F" states that it should not be taken for granted that all four arrested will be charged or that the representative of the prosecution will request the detention of all of them. This seems to have something to do purely with the investigative work and the evidence that emerged for each of the suspects.
As can be seen from what our newspaper is informed, the degree of involvement of each person differs, which indicates that surprises should not be ruled out during today's bringing to Court.
Burdened position
Of course, it is clear that the 38-year-old, who allegedly came to Cyprus through the occupied territories to organize the network, has a burdened position. In fact, all the information about the specific person converges and states that the investigative work of the Police revealed particularly incriminating testimonies about the suspect in question.
The 38-year-old was the one who, always based on the testimony against him, recruited 37-year-old Youssef, who was arrested last Saturday in Agios Nikolaos, Crete. It is reported that the Greek authorities have testimony against the 38-year-old that he was the one who booked tickets for the 37-year-old to travel to Malaysia, where they were allegedly trained in the manufacture of high-power explosive devices.
Image of a leader
In fact, the 37-year-old, who confessed to his involvement with the network, allegedly told the Greek authorities during his confession that he had regretted and changed his mind, however, because the 38-year-old had made expenses and arrangements, he felt obliged and, being vulnerable, he finally accepted to travel to the Asian country. Simply put, this testimony seems to convey the image of a leader in the network for the 38-year-old who was arrested on May 21 in Larnaca.
The suspect's children
Yesterday, the sphere of public debate was dominated by yesterday's revelation by "F" that three children of one of the two suspects who are in their fifth decade of age (57 and 54 years old, respectively), have entered into a contract with the National Guard (Contracted Soldiers). Previously, on Monday, we had revealed that one of the suspect's children (he has many children) serves in the Cyprus Police and had access to databases with the details of domestic and foreign persons.
The Minister of Defense, Vassilis Palmas, was asked about the issue yesterday on Sigma's news show ("Noon and something"). Mr. Palmas, answering the questions of journalist Christos Michalaros about the children of the suspect who are contract soldiers, although sparing, sent the message that nothing has been found against them. "They did not give us the right to suspect anything related to their professional career," he said. He sent a message that we must keep a low profile and that "because their father is considered a suspect" we must not ignore their rights. "A Greek Cypriot can also be a perjurer. We are damaging their reputation," the minister said, among other things.
However, the father of the aforementioned, according to what we are able to know, will be included in the indictment.
"F", in his attempt to determine whether the role of the suspect's children was examined, spoke to a source who has good knowledge of the data. The position we were given is that nothing comes of it against the offspring of the arrested.
Update
The suspects in the very serious terrorism case that was revealed at the end of May were brought before the Larnaca District Court under draconian measures. Eventually, three of the four arrested, aged 32, 38 and 54, were brought before the court. The latter's brother was released after no connection to the case emerged. The three arrested were referred to a closed-door procedure in a direct trial before the Permanent Criminal Court that will meet on August 6 in Larnaca. They are all charged, among other things, with terrorism and membership in a criminal organization.
It is recalled that the 32-year-old and the 38-year-old, who are considered Hamas cells, were allegedly preparing terrorist attacks on Israeli targets in Cyprus. It was found that the 57-year-old had contacts with them, whose children, as revealed by Filenews, serve in the security forces of the Republic of Cyprus.
A key person in the case is the 38-year-old, who arrived illegally in the Republic of Cyprus in recent months, as estimated through the occupied territories. His goal is believed to have been to manufacture the explosives and give instructions for the targets. The 38-year-old was also allegedly linked to the arrest case of the 37-year-old in Greece last Saturday, who confessed that the two were together in a Hamas camp in Malaysia in August 2025 and were trained in explosive construction. As reported yesterday by Greek media, in fact, the 37-year-old claimed that he was financed by the 38-year-old.
It is recalled that the 32-year-old Palestinian, who has been living in Cyprus with his wife and child in recent years, was connected to both houses in Governor's Beach and Larnaca Kamares, in which chemicals, including ammonia nitrate, were found. As it turned out, he procured some of these materials from the Cypriot market.
The lawyers of some of the suspects brought tension to their detention and the Court reserved its decision for tomorrow morning. Until then, the suspects will remain in custody
