Eight years for Palestinian who shot dead father

Nicosia criminal court on Monday sentenced a Palestinian man for the killing last year of his father, a former charge d’affairs of the Palestinian authority in Cyprus.

“Nicosia criminal court today sentenced a 39-year-old Nicosia resident to eight years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty on the charge of manslaughter,” a police statement said.

In sentencing the man, the court took into consideration that he is facing serious psychological problems, for which he is being treated.

The Palestinian diplomat was shot dead by his son in their home in Nicosia on November 13, in the Archangelos area.

The 39-year-old, who was said to have been suffering from mental problems, shot his 70-year-old father, who was ill and bedridden, in the head.

According to Nicosia police chief Demetris Demetriou the son had been treated abroad for his mental health problems.

Neighbours heard the gunshot and called police.

The wife of the victim was in the house on her own, as her other son was elsewhere.

When officers arrived at the scene they found the 39-year-old standing on the balcony with his hands up. He did not resist arrest.

The son’s motives were not immediately clear at the time, though police were looking into whether there was any connection with the victim’s illness, with the son having told police he had “Done the best for my father.”

It is understood that the elderly man was paralysed.

Between 1975 and 2008, the victim had served as the charge d’affairs of the Palestinian authority in Cyprus.

The convicted man is being held in the psychiatric wing for treatment at the central prisons.

 

 

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.