THE SON of a judge murdered during the Turkish invasion is calling on those who saw the three Turkish Cypriots involved in his death to come forward as eye-witnesses to bolster the murder inquiry recently launched by ‘police’ in the occupied north.
Spyros Hadjinicolaou and his mother, Agni, were called to give statements in the north on January 6, regarding the death of their husband and father.
Panayiotis Hadjinicolaou, a judge, was taken away on August 19, 1974, along with eight other men from a coffeeshop in Yialousa in the north east of the island. For years, his family campaigned to find news of his whereabouts. In 2007, his remains were found in a mass grave in Galateia. He was identified by the scientists of the Committee of Missing Persons using DNA samples.
In that summer of 1974, the Turkish army had holed up around 25 villagers in the Yialousa coffee shop. On August 19, Turkish soldiers accompanied by Turkish Cypriot paramilitary forces from the surrounding villagers went to the coffee shop and arrested nine Greek Cypriots. Those who were left behind were witness to the kidnapping.
According to the son Spyros, three Turkish Cypriots were identifiable because they were from the surrounding areas.
On January 6, Spyros and his mother went to the Turkish Cypriot ‘police’ accompanied by their lawyer, Achilleas Demetriades, to give statements regarding the three. The much-delayed effort to get to the bottom of the crime is a result of a number of cases currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights regarding Cyprus and Turkey’s failure to carry out “effective investigations” into the fate of the missing.
“They gave three specific names recognised as participating in this kidnap and subsequent murder. I hope the police in the occupied areas will proceed with the investigation. They called others to secure statements to proceed with this process,” said Demetriades.
Speaking to the state broadcaster yesterday, Spyros made a plea for more Yialousa villagers who were present that day to come forward and give statements to the authorities in the north, in the hope that a water-tight case might bring the murder inquiry to a concrete conclusion.
“We would like this case to have finished much sooner. Time is dragging on for the family to see justice done. I’m optimistic we’ll find at least one eye witness who will help build a case,” said Spyros.
