Pafos Press 7 August 2026
Paphos: 28-year-old arrested for breaking into homes with burglary tools
The Police proceeded to arrest a 28-year-old man, to facilitate investigations into ongoing cases of attempted burglary, possession of burglary tools during the night, as well as other offenses.
Specifically, as part of a coordinated operation to prevent burglaries and thefts, which was carried out in the early hours of yesterday, 06/08/2026, by members of the Paphos Police Department, a specific area was placed under surveillance.
During the operation, members of the Police identified a person moving suspiciously and entering residential yards. At the sight of the police, the 28-year-old attempted to escape, but was stopped and arrested for the flagrant offense of illegal entry. During a subsequent physical check, burglary tools were found in his possession.
A search of the 28-year-old's vehicle followed, where burglary tools, a sum of money, and a quantity of narcotics were also found and seized.
Based on testimony obtained against the 28-year-old, he is alleged to be involved in a case of house burglary and theft, which was committed on 18/11/2025 in the Paphos district, as well as in a case of attempted burglary committed on 21/05/2026, also in the Paphos district.
The 28-year-old appeared yesterday before the Paphos District Court, which issued a detention order for him for five days.
The examinations continue at the Pegeia Police Station.
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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 police operations, two persons were arrested for the offenses of illegal stay in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, drunkenness, restlessness, etc.
As part of these operations, during the night, 682 vehicles were stopped for inspection and 952 persons on board were checked. At the same time, 41 inspections were carried out in premises with the aim of dealing with phenomena of delinquency, during which a complaint was made.
During traffic checks carried out, 368 complaints were made, concerning various traffic violations, while ten investigated cases of traffic violations also emerged.
Of the complaints made, 161 concerned exceeding the speed limit, while as part of the police examinations, ten vehicles were detained. 200 alcohol tests were also carried out, from which six complaints emerged, as well as a preliminary drug test with a positive result.
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.
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In a road collision that occurred in the early hours of this morning in Nicosia, a 16-year-old was seriously injured.
Specifically, around 2 a.m. today, a vehicle moving in the direction from Georgiou Grivas Digeni Avenue to Larnakos Avenue in Aglantzia, under circumstances that are being investigated, hit and dragged a personal mobility device in front driven by a 16-year-old.
The 16-year-old was seriously injured in the collision and was taken to Nicosia General Hospital, where he underwent surgery and is in critical condition.
The vehicle involved was located a little later at a different point from the one of the collision and in a final alcohol test subjected by a 27-year-old man, who, according to the information so far, was allegedly the driver of the vehicle, was found positive with a final result of 73% instead of 22μg% which is the maximum limit by the Law and was arrested for a flagrante delicto offense.
The Nicosia Traffic Police continues the examinations.
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A 26-year-old student of South Asian origin was the victim of a violent attack and robbery last Saturday, August 1, around 4:20 in the morning, in a parking lot near a construction site, next to the roundabout of "No" in Nicosia.
The student told Filenews that a group of three to four men, who he believes spoke Arabic, approached him asking if he wanted a cigarette. When he refused, the men attacked him, throwing him to the ground and taking away his mobile phone and house keys.
The 26-year-old said he shouted as loud as he could, but no one helped him, noting that at that time the area was a "ghost town".
The incident took place in a dark parking lot next to the construction site on Konstantinou Palaiologou Street, just before the roundabout of Noi. The student told Filenews that the transition from the well-lit street with the restaurants" to the "completely dark zone of the construction site causes stress and is a huge danger" for citizens.
Filenews contacted the Municipality of Nicosia, which stated that there is currently no plan to install additional lighting in the area, suggesting that complaints be sent via email so that any incidents can be investigated.
The 26-year-old reported the incident to the Nicosia Central Police Station and submitted a medical report to the Crime Investigation Department (TAE) as evidence, having suffered injuries to his knee, legs and elbow, after the perpetrators threw him to the ground. He also handed over his mobile phone IMEI number to the TAE and gave a deposit.
According to what he told Filenews, the TAE informed him that identifying the perpetrators may be difficult, as he could not give a specific description of them due to the lack of lighting, but also because there were no recordings from security cameras.
To date, the stolen goods have not been returned to the 26-year-old, who said that the TAE would contact him if they located his mobile phone.
The 26-year-old told Filenews that the area remains very dark even at nine or ten in the evening, estimating that there are no security cameras working at the place where the attack was committed.
He then published a post on the social media Reddit with the aim of informing the public and urging other citizens to be careful. In the post, he advised citizens to call a taxi that takes you to your door, adding: "Please don't risk it when you're alone."
Other social media users commented on the issue of security in Cyprus in the comments of the post, with one user advising him to change the locks and one user commenting that, as a woman, the incident sounds scary.
The 26-year-old added that he usually feels safe in the area, in which he often walks, estimating that the attack was probably random and that the perpetrators are hiding in the shadows. He said his biggest problem with the area is how dark it is there at 4 in the morning.
The student told Filenews that the incident left him quite injured.
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There has been a new postponement in the extradition process of the 45-year-old Azeri to the United Kingdom, where he faces charges of espionage-related offences against Britain which, according to British authorities, were committed at the British Akrotiri Bases.
The issue of translation into the mother tongue of the requested person was once again raised before the Court. Today's proceedings before the Limassol Court were postponed, as the Azerbaijani translator who had attended the previous hearing did not appear. The translation today was made from English to Russian. At the same time, the issue of appointing a lawyer in the United Kingdom, as the state requesting the extradition of the 45-year-old, after the execution of the arrest warrant in Cyprus under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the European Union and the United Kingdom, is pending.
The 45-year-old's lawyer, Efstathios Efstathiou, stated before the Court that the necessary actions have been taken to secure legal aid from a lawyer in the United Kingdom, who will be able to assist in securing access to the case file before the British Court. As he mentioned, a response to the issue is expected within 48 hours.
On the part of the Prosecution Authority, it was reported that efforts were made through the Protocol Office to locate a translator in the Azeri language, but to no avail. The case was set for a hearing next week, with the Court setting three dates for the proceedings.
During his appearance before the Court today, the 45-year-old wore a T-shirt with a map of Palestine, while on the back there was a photo of Palestinian activist Saber Al-Askar, who has been recorded during the weekly "Great March of Return" protests in the Gaza Strip.
After the end of the process, the 45-year-old was taken back to the Central Prison, where he has been held as a prisoner since June 2025. It is recalled that the 45-year-old, holder of a British passport, has stated that he does not consent to his extradition to the United Kingdom and, therefore, the case will be heard through a hearing.
According to the extradition request of the British authorities, his transfer to the United Kingdom is requested in order to be prosecuted for offences relating to assisting a foreign intelligence service and entering a restricted area with the intent to cause damage to the United Kingdom, in violation of the National Security Act 2023.
The offences, under British law, carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years. UK authorities believe that 45-year-old Rashad Sultanov had a direct relationship with Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
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The Police arrested a 16-year-old, to facilitate investigations regarding an investigated case of arson of a building (the historic Corner Pub), committed in Nicosia on August 5, 2026.
Specifically, yesterday around 4.30 p.m., a fire broke out in an abandoned building in the province of Nicosia. Members of the Police and the Fire Service went to the scene and extinguished the fire.
From on-site examinations that followed, it was found that the fire was set maliciously.
As part of the investigation of the case, testimony was obtained against a 16-year-old, who was arrested today by virtue of a court warrant and taken into custody.
The TAE of Nicosia continues the examinations.
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Despite the claim that he was attacked inside the Central Prison and suffered a fracture, the Court of Appeal ruled that no new data emerged to justify the release of a man, maintaining in force the detention order of the accused, who faces serious charges of importing and trafficking almost two kilograms of cannabis. The Court of Appeal therefore upheld the decision of the Nicosia Criminal Court to continue his detention until the start of the hearing of his case on 8 October 2026.
The defendant faces seven charges related to import, possession and possession for the purpose of supplying cannabis with a total weight of 1,998 kilograms, as well as conspiracy to commit the specific crimes with another person. He also faces a separate category for possession of 0.97 grams of cannabis.
In his appeal, which he had registered, he claimed that there was no testimony implicating him in the case, that he had voluntarily surrendered to the authorities, while he also referred to a fracture in his cheekbone after an attack, arguing that his human rights were violated.
The Court of Appeal held that the grounds of appeal were incomplete, as they did not identify a specific legal or factual error in the decision of the Criminal Court nor did they contain the required reasoning. He even noted that the fact that the appeal was registered by the defendant himself could not remedy this deficiency.
At the same time, the court also examined the merits of the case. He recalled that the defendant's detention had already been ordered at the time of his referral to trial due to the risk of evasion of justice, while his previous appeal against detention had also been rejected by the Court of Appeal last June.
During the last proceedings before the Criminal Court, the Prosecution requested the continuation of the detention, pointing out that no new evidence had emerged that would differentiate the data on the basis of which the initial decision had been issued. The defense raised issues related to the defendant's safety in the Central Prison and the medical care he had received after an attack he allegedly received during his detention.
The Court of Appeal agreed with the judgment of the Criminal Court that these allegations did not constitute new data capable of justifying a change in the detention decision. As stated in the decision, the duration of detention until the scheduled hearing is not considered excessive, while no new differentiating factor was presented that had not already been brought before the court of first instance.
In relation to security and health care issues, the Court of Appeal pointed out that it is the responsibility of the State and the Central Prison Directorate to ensure the protection and necessary medical care of prisoners. It is also noted that, according to the position of the representative of the Attorney General, the accused was examined by doctors, received the required treatment, was transferred to another wing of the prison and the TAE was informed to investigate the alleged attack.
The Court of Appeal reiterated that in repeated detention requests, the courts only examine whether new data have emerged that change the initial judgment and not issues that had already been judged. Concluding that such new evidence did not exist in the present case, it rejected the appeal and upheld the decision of the Criminal Court to continue the detention of the accused.
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A 10-month prison sentence was imposed today (6/8) by the Limassol District Court on a 43-year-old man, who was found in April 2025 driving a vehicle in Germasogeia, under the influence of methamphetamine and cannabis, without a driver's license and while the vehicle was not covered by insurance.
According to the facts of the case, at noon on April 24, 2025, a member of the Traffic Headquarters stopped the 43-year-old for driving without a seat belt, and was then subjected to a drug test. The check found that the driver was positive for methamphetamine and cannabis. At the same time, it was found that he was driving with a deprived driver's license and without the required insurance coverage.
The Court sentenced the 43-year-old to 10 months in prison for disobeying a court order, as he had previously been convicted of driving under the influence of drugs. In fact, on February 14, 2025, he was released from prison and, about two months later, committed the same crime again.
He was also deprived of his driver's license for a period of 6 months as well as seven penalty points. For driving without insurance, he was sentenced to 4 months in prison, while for driving with a deprived license, he was sentenced to 5 months in prison. The above sentences are immediate and concur with the longest sentence of 10 months imposed for disobeying the Court's order.
The case was handled on behalf of the Attorney General of the Republic by the public prosecutor Maria Kakopitou.
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Cy Mail
Four of the seven people arrested in connection with the murder of 40-year-old Nizam Allanazarov appeared in court in Kyrenia on Friday, facing allegations related to the murder and drug possession.The first suspect, a 30-year-old man, was charged with premeditated murder, illegal possession of a knife, and living in the north without residence documents.
According to newspaper Yeniduzen, police sergeant Uzeyir Kursat Koser told the court that the investigation has “only just begun”, and said he expects more statements to be taken and CCTV camera footage from nearby buildings to be examined.
He requested that the man have his remand in custody extended for a further seven days, and judge Mine Gunduz Serden acquiesced.
Next, three more men, aged 37, 33 and 31, appeared in court together, with a different police officer taking the stand.
The officer said the 37-year-old and the 31-year-old were travelling in the same vehicle as Allanazarov prior to the attack, and that during a subsequent search of that vehicle, five grams of illegal drugs were found in the vehicle.
He added that the 33-year-old was also found to be in possession of drugs at the time of his arrest.
Additionally, he said that the 33-year-old had been living in the north without residence documents since April 2023, and that the other two said the drugs in their possession had been given to them by Allanazarov.
The 37-year-old told the court that “I do not remember the incident” and that “I want to know why they arrested me”, while also asking to be examined at a hospital due to injuries sustained.
All three men’s remands were also extended for a further seven days, while judge Serden ordered that the 37-year-old undergo a medical examination.
The other three men who were arrested did not appear in court and were released as the police found no connection between them and the incident.
Allanazarov died after what the police described as a “dispute” in the car park of a block of flats on a street in the west of Kyrenia during the early hours of Thursday morning.
He was taken to the town’s Dr Akcicek hospital but succumbed to his wounds.
