Foreign experts willing to help in body theft probe

THE UNITED States, Greece and Israel are willing to assist in resolving the theft of the body of later former president Tassos Papadopoulos, police said yesterday.

As the investigation into the gruesome act that stunned Cyprus continues, police said the US, Greece and Israel had expressed their willingness to contribute.

“We expect them to define what kind of help can be provided and we will decide our next steps,” police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said.

Reports suggested yesterday the authorities had asked the US whether they had satellite photos of the area of the cemetery at the time when it is believed the body was dug up some 12 days ago.

Police however still have no clues as to the motive of the perpetrators despite saying they are working towards specific directions.

“It is risky to comment (on the motive) from the moment the identity of the perpetrators has not been revealed,” Katsounotos said.

However the use of the Major Incident Room software provided by the British bases in Cyprus has led police to some conclusions.

“From the analysis of the information some conclusions have been drawn and based on this we have made our next moves,” Katsounotos said.

The software processes all information collected by the police in connection with the case.

Katsounotos said the investigation will continue during the Christmas holidays.

A day before the anniversary of his December 12, 2008 death, the former president’s corpse was removed from its casket overnight in torrential rain after the culprits shifted a granite slab and dug through several feet of earth.

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.