Police chief gives statement on Kitas escape case

POLICE CHIEF Iacovos Papacostas has given a statement to criminal investigators as part of the ongoing inquiry into the escape of convicted rapist and murderer Antonis Prokopiou Kitas from a private Nicosia hospital at the end of last year, reports said yesterday.

Papacostas’ statement was taken by Panayiotis Pelagia and Onisiforos Ioannou on Friday morning.

According to Phileleftheros, the police chief handed the pair a brief written statement with his take on the case. Papacostas is thought to have refrained from answering the criminal investigators’ questions even though his testimony was believed to have been a vital part of the inquiry. Instead, the list of questions prepared by Pelagia and Ioannou went unanswered. The duo is believed to have wanted to ask Papacostas about the events before, during and after the Stasicratous Street incident on December 12 and about statements the chief made following the escape.

A shootout between police and Kitas’ getaway car ensued on the Nicosia street shortly after the 42-year-old convict had climbed out of his private hospital window. Kitas later claimed he’d been in the area at the Drug Squad’s instigation. He said he had been due to carry out an armed robbery to help the squad entrap a Turkish Cypriot drug trafficker.

Papacostas’ statement will be examined by the investigators and is expected to be included in their final report, which could be ready in as soon as two weeks time, reports said.

Meanwhile, the head of the Central Prisons’ security was also called to testify before criminal investigators on Friday. Next week suspended prison director Michalis Hadjidemetriou as well as Appollonion hospital staff will be called to answer questions, reports said.

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