Three escape from open prison

THREE men escaped from the open prison on Sunday night and are still at large.

Brothers Kasim Topaloglou, 28, Sadik Topaloglou, 31 and their cousin 33-year-old Aziz Topaloglou, were serving a two-year sentence for animal theft.

The three, from Stavrokonou in Paphos, were sentenced in February this year and were due to be freed in September 2006.

Police were notified by the prison and immediately started searches in Stavrokonou, but until last night the escapees hadn’t been found.
Police fear they may have crossed to the occupied areas.

Prisoners kept in the open prison live in a state of semi-freedom and to qualify need to have shown exceptional behaviour and hard work.
Police have appealed to the public asking anyone who may have any relevant information to notify them.

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.