Dhekelia suspect charged with premeditated murder

THE 21-year-old man who allegedly stabbed his 46-year-old mother to death late last month, was charged with premeditated murder on Monday and is to stand trial in the Dhekelia criminal court in the British base.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, the trial of the Iraqi-Kurdish refugee Amil Aziz, is set for October 13.

Aziz, who appeared in court on Monday with his lawyer, denies any involvement in the crime and refuses to cooperate with the investigators, CNA said. His father was the only family member present at the hearing.

The incident occurred in August 30 at the refugee settlement which hosts the suspect’s family and other refugee families. Aziz was seen by a witness crouched over the body of his mother who was reportedly on the ground bleeding on the front door steps of a nearby house. When a neighbour rushed over to investigate, Aziz reportedly said his mother had been bitten by a dog. Moments later, the 21-year-old fled the scene on foot and was arrested the next morning after a tip-off on his whereabouts.

Pending the trial, he is held under custody at the Dhekelia base detention cells.

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.