A 22-YEAR-OLD Egyptian man yesterday denied he’d been involved in the beating and robbery of compatriot last week.
Speaking through an Arabic translator the lanky, dark-haired suspect told Nicosia district judge Lefteris Panteli he had not even been at the scene of the alleged crime last Saturday.
“I wasn’t where the crime was committed. I was with a friend and I didn’t leave my house from Friday to Monday. On Saturday, I invited friends to my house who can act as witnesses if you want,” the young man said.
The 22-year-old went on to say that another suspect already in police custody for the same crime had contacted him just before he was arrested and had told him the police were coming for him.
“I told him I had done nothing,” he said.
Despite the suspect’s claims Pantelis said there was enough evidence to hold him in custody for five days as requested by police.
As the suspect was led from court he kept muttering to the court translator, crestfallen over the judge’s decision.
The suspect was arrested in connection with the beating and robbery of an Egyptian man last Saturday evening in the Nicosia district village Ayios Ioannis Maloundas.
The Egyptian man was returning from Larnaca in his employer’s car when a white four-door Honda cut him off and six men he recognised got out of the vehicle.
According to the victim, the six started to hit his car damaging the windshield and two side windows. The man alleges he was then forced out of the car and beaten with sticks and punched.
The assailants also managed to remove a money belt from his waist containing €3,600 in cash and a cheque for €1,040. One of the suspects, who is already in custody, pulled a knife and made threatening advances towards the victim. The six ran off when the victim’s brother and some other friends, who lived in the area and heard the commotion, ran to his aid.
Two men were arrested and remanded in custody in connection with the case on Monday. One of the two has already confessed while the other has denied any involvement. Both were identified by the victim, his brother and another man. Yesterday’s suspect was also identified by the victim’s brother but has so far refused to co-operate with authorities, the court heard.
