Man wanted for fatal Nicosia stabbing arrested in north

Authorities in the north arrested on Thursday a man who is wanted in the south in connection with the February 23 murder of a Pakistani national in Nicosia.

Mohamad Al-Shalal, a 27-year-old from Syria, has been detained by Turkish Cypriot authorities for an unrelated offence – illegal entry into the north.

According to Kibris newspaper, he crossed into the north on March 1 via an unauthorised access point.

The paper said al-Shalal was spotted by a police patrol.

He is wanted by the Republic in connection to the fatal stabbing of 24-year-old Pakistani Ahmed Bin Talib.

The crime took place in the early morning hours of February 23, on Rigenis Street, in old Nicosia.

Police already have in custody a 22-year-old Palestinian man.

Police said that during questioning the Palestinian admitted to having stabbed Bin Talib during a robbery but claimed he did not want to kill him.

He later revealed the name of his accomplice, al-Shalal.

 

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.