President calls for unity to fight crime

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias yesterday urged unity in fighting crime following the theft of the former president’s corpse, a plan allegedly hatched by a convicted murderer.

Christofias reiterated that people are living through a crisis of institutions and values, which is a global phenomenon, and not one only prevalent in Cyprus.

Christofias said the government cannot fight the battle on its own.

“We fight to restore values, customs … and ethos in our country,” Christofias said. “It is not an easy job; it is a battle that I would like the media as allies, and I am making this plea to everyone, to join forces because the whole of society needs to join.”

He said his administration is in the process of correcting many issues – “things are not so simple but we are fighting.”

Christofias’ government has been heavily criticised by the opposition over its handling of crime, especially after it transpired that the plan to snatch former president Tassos Papadopoulos’ body had been allegedly masterminded by Antonis Prokopiou Kitas who is serving a life sentence for raping and murdering two women.

Papadopoulos’ remains were found on Monday after an Indian national implicated in the case revealed its location to the family.

Police have arrested two suspects and placed them in custody, including the Indian, in connection with the case.

The second suspect, the convict’s brother Mamas, admitted his involvement on Friday.

Mamas reportedly alleged that his brother wanted to ‘exchange’ the remains for an early release either through a presidential pardon or through the parole board.

Mamas made no mention of ransom in his testimony, reports said.

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.