SIMERINI: “Appeal over double homicide sentence”. Prosecution lawyer Savvas Matsas said he would be appealing the sentence handed down to 55-year-old Charalambos Afxentiou for the premeditated double murder of 60-year-old Andreas Skylourgiotis and his 38-year-old son Charalambos from Mouttalos in Paphos. The judge jailed Afxentiou for 20 years, a sentence Matsas deemed insufficient. “We respect the court’s decision, but disagree with it,” he said.
ALITHIA: “Kidnapper abused my daughter”. The mother of a 10-year-old daughter kidnapped on Sunday has said the 43-year-old abused her child. Her complaint follows state pathologist Sophoclis Sophocleous’ examination of the girl, which found no signs of harm. Nevertheless the 10-year-old has told her mother she was pulled by the ears and hair, gagged and had her hands bound, and that the man burnt her wrist with a cigarette.
PHILELEFTHEROS: “More arrests likely next week”. Excess workload and the complexity of the investigation are why possible arrests in connection with the Church scandal will be postponed till next week. CID investigators are continuing their examination of the case as they sift day and night through documents, which they found in the possession of three suspects already in police custody. The three are said not to be co-operating with the police investigation.
MACHI: “Talks held in ignorance of Rauf Denktash”. EU enlargement commissioner Gunter Verheugen said talks were being held in New York, Ankara, Athens, Nicosia and Brussels without the knowledge of Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, “who has the impression he is powerful and leads everything”. The story was reported by Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris, which covered Verheugen’s speech.
POLITIS: “Blacky arrested ”. A 43-year-old man wanted in connection with the attempted rape of a 32-year-old woman and the kidnapping of a 10-year-old girl was arrested on Wednesday night in Limassol following co-ordinated police efforts. Andreas Costas Demou, otherwise known as Blacky, did not resist arrest and was taken straight to police headquarters. He was expected to appear in court yesterday for his remand hearing.
HARAVGHI: “Mallis to face disciplinary investigation”. The Cabinet appointed Agriculture Ministry permanent secretary Makis Constantinides to head the investigation into whether or not private clinics inspector Constantinos Mallis had committed a disciplinary offence in his handling of an unlicensed private clinic. Health Minister Dina Akkelidou briefed the Cabinet on the situation and the decision was made with the intention of getting to the bottom of things as soon as possible.
