President’s body theft suspect dragged from court

THE Nicosia Criminal Court will next month announce its verdict on the three defendants, including a convicted murderer, on trial in connection with stealing the body of former president Tassos Papadopoulos in December 2009.

Convicted rapist and murderer Antonis Prokopiou Kitas, his brother Mamas and Indian national Sarbjit Singh are facing charges of conspiring to commit the crimes of desecrating a tomb, illegal entry into a cemetery and digging up a corpse without a permit.

Kitas had to be dragged out of the courtroom yesterday because he insisted on speaking to the President of the Court, claiming he had “new evidence.”

During the hearing, the two sides submitted their closing arguments in writing. The court said it will announce its decision on April 4.

Papadopoulos’ body was stolen from his grave at the Kato Deftera cemetery on the outskirts of Nicosia on December 11, 2009 – a day before the first anniversary of his death.

The body was recovered three months later, buried in another grave in a cemetery not far from where it was stolen.

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.