THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL did not yesterday receive a copy of the report into the escape of convicted double rapist and murderer Antonis Prokopiou Kitas last year.
Despite Petros Clerides assurances last month that the criminal investigators’ report would be on his desk by May 15, the five were given an extension till Monday.
Apparently there has been a problem in reaching a unanimous conclusion regarding certain police officers’ involvement in the entire debacle.
According to Politis the final report might include two different recommendations. Two of the criminal investigators are thought to believe that based on the facts, evidence and witness testimony three police officers are guilty of criminal offenses. The remaining three investigators disagree however and believe the ‘guilty’ officers should face disciplinary charges.
The five were said to have tried to bridge their differences on Thursday ahead of yesterday’s deadline without success.
The final report is expected to be divided into two parts: events during Kitas’ six month hospitalisation at Nicosia’s Appollonion hospital and events that took place on the night Kitas escaped from the private medical facility right up until his re-arrest several weeks later.
The Legal Services chief is expected to examine the report and make a ruling on whether there was any criminal or disciplinary responsibility to be apportioned. The final decision rests with Clerides who will then make his conclusions public. In the meantime a copy of the report will also be give to the Cabinet, which appointed the investigators in the first place.
The AG has so far refused to give away any preliminary conclusions the investigators might have reached ahead of the long awaited report’s completion date.
Clerides was not yesterday available for comment.
Kitas, also known as Al Capone, gained notoriety in 1994 when he was jailed for life for the brutal abductions, rapes and murders of Oksana Lisna, 20, and Christina Ahfeldt, 28 in 1993. He escaped from a private Nicosia hospital in December where he and been receiving treatment for gastric reflux. An island wide manhunt ensued in his recapture on January 5.
Over the past five months two of his accomplices who helped him escape were sentenced to two years imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to the charges.
Two Drug Law Enforcement Unit (DLEU) officers were also arrested for questioning after they were implicated in the affair, including former DLEU Assistant Commander Avraam Charalambous and a sergeant. The former has since been posted to head Morphou Headquarters.
Kitas will also be tried for his escape as soon as the criminal investigation surrounding the incident is completed.
