Man held in connection with attempted murders

LIMASSOL court yesterday remanded a man for eight days in connection with two attempted murders, while also reprimanding police for delays in investigations that allowed the suspect to travel overseas.

Stelios Costas Christou, 27, was arrested on Wednesday after arriving at Limassol harbour at 11am.

He had been travelling on a cruise ship from Greece, where police believe he escaped with his brother, Christakis, 30, who is believed to be the second person wanted in connection with the same case.

Police had been looking for Christou since July 1 in connection with the attempted murders of Antonis Loizou, also known as Serina, and Charalambos Charalambos in a bomb attack on December 27.

He is also suspected of causing damage with explosives to the property of Evanthis Ioannou in Yerasa and for a break-in at the Ypsonas home of Thanasis Athanasiou.

Two shotguns, jewellery and a camera worth a total of £3,000 were stolen from Athanasiou’s home.

Christou has denied involvement in any of the cases.

The court reproached the police for allowing Christou and his brother to leave Cyprus on June 31, when they had in their possession testimony implicating them in the crimes.

Police said they had let the two brothers go in exchange for information on other cases and because the brothers said they feared for their life and would be going to Australia.

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.