Suspects plead not guilty in Hadjicostis case

The four defendants in the murder trial of media mogul Andis Hadjicostis will appear in the dock on 9 November after pleading not guilty yesterday to charges of conspiracy to commit murder and premeditated murder.

The defendants are Gregoris Xenofontos, 29, television presenter Elena Skordelli, 42, her 37-year-old brother Tasos Krasopoulis and Andreas Gregoriou, 33.

Xenofontos fled the island for Moldova shortly after the murder until his recent arrest and extradition. He is suspected of being the man who gunned down Hadjicostis, 42, outside his home.

The Sigma boss was shot twice outside his Engomi home on January 11 as he exited his car having just arrived home from work.

According to the bill of indictment read out in court, they are accused of planning the murder of Hadjicostis during the course of two meetings – one in Nicosia the other in the village of Pera Orinis – that took place in December 2009 and January 2010.

The defendants are said to have plotted the murder along with Theofanis Hadjigeorgiou, who has received immunity from prosecution in return for testifying against the others. Hadjigeorgiou has been placed in a witness protection programme.

The defendants also face premeditated murder charges, which carry a mandatory life sentence. They stand accused of ‘bringing about the death of Andis Hadjicostis, with premeditation and through an illegal act’.

The criminal court ordered that the four remain in police custody until the first hearing, scheduled for 8.30am on November 9.

Skordelli and Krasopoulis have been held in custody since January.

Three of the defendants’ lawyers raised no objection to the detention order. Xenofontos’ attorney requested that arrangements be made so he can spend more time with his client who is currently behind bars at the Central Prisons.

Additional hearings in the trial have already been set for November 10, 11, 15 and 16.

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.