Aeroporos mother charged with assault

By Martin Hellicar

THE 56-year-old mother of three Aeroporos brothers on trial for the attempted murder of Antonis Fanieros was yesterday charged with assault.

Larnaca District Court heard that Eleni Aeroporou attacked the mother of murder victim Stalo Ioannou, Androulla, at the court on June 30. The alleged assault took place on the day Eleni’s sons Hambis, 35, Andros, 30, and Panicos, 25, were remanded in connection with the May 29 machine-gun attack on 57-year-old Fanieros in Larnaca.

Androulla Ioannou and her husband were protesting outside the court about the fact that their daughter’s murder – in February 1994 – was still unsolved.

Eleni Aeroporou denied the charge and the case was postponed till March 10.

Eleni’s other son, Michalis, was also due before the court yesterday, to face a charge of breach of the peace for allegedly publicly insulting Androulla Ioannou at the court on June 30. However, Michalis failed to show up. A warrant was issued for his arrest and his case was also postponed till March 10.

Meanwhile, the trial of his three brothers continued before the Nicosia Assizes.

Defence counsel Efstathios Efstathiou objected to a prosecution request for computer records of telephone calls made to chief prosecution witness Tassos Simellides before and after the attack to be admitted as evidence.

Simellides – already convicted for acting as get-away driver for the attack on Fanieros – has named Panicos as the hit-man, Andros as the architect and Hambis as the instigator for the attack.

Efstathiou argued that admitting such evidence would be a breach of privacy laws.

After five hours of increasingly legalistic defence and prosecution arguments, the court decided to adjourn the case till tomorrow.

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