Racing link to car arson attack on former government spokesman

The arson attack on the car of former government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou is believed to be linked to horse racing disputes, police spokesman Andreas Angelides said on Thursday.

The car, which was parked near the race track in Ayios Dhometios in Nicosia, was torched Wednesday night and the blaze destroyed two other cars. The fire service found traces of a flammable substance at the scene.

Papapetrou has had his car torched before in April 2015. At the time, he told police he suspected no one as he had left politics years before, and said he thought the fire might be a result of an electrical fault.

Papapetrou is a member of the Race Club’s committee.

He added that the arson, according to sources, appears to be related with matters concerning horse races.

“There is some information that is being investigated,” he said. He added that investigators would contact Papapetrou again for additional information.

 

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.