Woman says she saw gunmen execute Aeroporos

By Charlie Charalambous

A FEMALE eyewitness yesterday told the criminal court how she saw masked gunmen execute Hambis Aeroporos after chasing him down a Limassol street.

Ellena Kollemou told the court she was only fives metres away from the hooded killers when they fired on Hambis while he was on the ground.

“I saw two masked gunmen shoot the victim, they were both carrying guns,” the eye-witness said.

She added: “I saw the victim fall to the ground as two men followed him; the masked men then came up to him and shot him.”

The prosecution witness said she was driving from Limassol to Ypsonas in her Mitsubishi Pajero when she saw the cold-blooded killing, which took place near the town’s new hospital.

“At first I was in shock, then when I realised what was happening I had to get away and made my escape via a nearby field.”

Kollemou’s said she saw no other people around at the time of the shooting.

She said it was impossible to identify the killers despite being only metres away because their faces were hidden.

“I stayed in the car and saw nobody else at the scene,” she said.

Defence lawyers for the five accused did not cross-examine the witness.

On trial for the December 16 murder are special constable Savvas Ioannou, 33 — alias Kinezos — policeman Christos Symianos, 35, waiter Prokopis Prokopi, 35, cabaret owner Sotiris Athinis, 43, and his 51-year-old sister and hospital cleaner Zoe Alexandrou. All have pleaded not guilty to charges of involvement in the killing.

During yesterday’s proceedings, the prosecution called three police witnesses to suggest that Symianos and Kinezos were in constant phone contact on the eve of the murder.

The trial continues.