THE fourth remaining suspect in media boss Andis Hadjicostis’ murder trial, currently in remand in Moldova awaiting extradition, has sent a letter to the Police Chief telling him he wants to return to Cyprus and stand trial.
According to police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos yesterday, suspect Gregoris Xenofontos’ handwritten note, along with an official letter, have been submitted to the Legal Services for examination.
Katsounotos said the letter had in fact been sent by Xenofontos through a relative last Friday. When Police Chief Michalis Papageorgiou opened it, he found the handwritten note in which the suspect expressed his consent to being extradited to Cyprus to stand trial.
Once it was confirmed that the letters had indeed come from Xenofontos, Papageorgiou ordered them to be sent to the Legal Services to be used in the Republic’s application for the extradition.
“It has already been sent to the relevant Moldovan authorities and specifically to the legal service and Justice Ministry, which is dealing with the Cypriot authorities’ request so that the Court is informed about Gregoris Xenofontos’ desire,” said Katsounotos.
He added that in order for the note to have any value for the Cypriot authorities, it would have to be put before the Moldovan court dealing with the matter.
“If Gregoris Xenofontos has indeed consented, the court will have to issue a decision for his extradition and hand him over, and for this reason investigators will be sent to Moldova to transport him to Cyprus, when and if our application is approved,” Katsounotos concluded.
Xenofontos, who is the fourth remaining suspect in the murder trial of 42-year-old Hadjicostis, is believed to be the man who pulled the trigger on the night of the killing, when the Sigma boss was shot twice outside his home last January.
Three days after the murder, Xenofontos went to Moldova, his wife’s home country, and never returned. He was not detained until last month.
According to sources, police were concerned at the Moldovan authorities’ delay in arresting Xenofontos, months after a European and international arrest warrants were issued for him.
Three other suspects currently face trial for the murder of Hadjicostis. They are Elena Skordelli, 42, her brother Tasos Krasopoulis, 37, and Andreas Gregoriou, 33. They all deny the charges. A fifth suspect Theophanis Hadjigeorgiou was acquitted of all charges and entered into a witness protection programme after agreeing to testify against the others.
