TWO teenage brothers were yesterday remanded in custody for five days in connection with the beating of a youth after the end of a Nicosia football match on Sunday.
Ten police officers were also slightly injured in the violence, while damage to the stadium is estimated at £20,000.
The court heard that the brothers, a 17-year-old schoolboy and a soldier aged 19, allegedly beat up Olympiakos youth team goalkeeper Demetris Stylianou, causing him grievous bodily harm.
The alleged attack took place during an outburst of hooliganism at the end of Sunday’s derby game between Nicosia teams Omonia and Olympiakos.
Police told the court that Stylianou, who is still recovering in hospital, was beaten by a pack of 15 Omonia fans, who stormed the south stand of the GSP stadium occupied by Olympiakos supporters.
At the same time, other Omonia supporters hurled coins, plastic bottles, and other objects onto the pitch as the referee tried to get out of the ground. The referee eventually needed the protection of police riot shields to leave the pitch.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Omonia supporters trashed the stadium’s main entrance, reducing it to rubble. Police charged the fans in an effort to push them back. Ten officers were injured and a patrol car was severely damaged.
Three fans were questioned and released on Sunday in connection with the trouble.
But police said in court yesterday that the case under investigation concerned the beating, which was much more serious, insisting that if the suspects were released, they could interfere with police efforts in arresting all those responsible for the attack.
The defence objected to the request, arguing its clients had already admitted to taking part in Stylianou’s beating.
The two suspects had agreed to post any bail, give up their travel documents and present themselves to a police station whenever requested.
But the police investigator insisted that, despite the youths’ confession, the investigation had not yet been completed.
“Should the suspects be freed, they could influence other individuals involved in the fray,” he said.
The defence retorted that the police just wanted to use the suspects as witnesses to other offences, thereby violating their personal and constitutional freedom, since they had already told the truth about the incident, which effectively meant the case was solved.
The judge, while acknowledging the defence’s argument that the case against the two brothers had been resolved, agreed with the state that if they were released they could influence other witnesses.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
