A high-profile case in Cyprus that was presented as a terrorism plot and drew the attention of then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has ended with a conspiracy to murder conviction.
The Nicosia Criminal Court sentenced 42-year-old Orhan Asadov to six and a half years in prison on Friday. He was arrested at the Ayios Andreas municipal swimming pool in Nicosia over terrorism allegations and accusations he planned to murder five Israeli citizens.
The man, from Azerbaijan, has been in custody since autumn 2021. Given that one year of imprisonment at the Central Prisons is served in nine months, the 42-year-old is expected to be released in 2026.
Asadov’s lawyer Kostis Efstathiou and prosecutor Polina Efthyvoulou reached an agreement in which Asadov admitted a conspiracy to murder charge whilst terrorism charges (carrying up to life imprisonment) and intent to murder Israeli citizens were withdrawn.
The decision may influence the cases of the other two defendants, represented by Panos Pafitis and Kassandra Kouppari respectively. The next hearing is scheduled for 11 December and will address an issue raised by lawyer Panos Pafitis on behalf of his client concerning the circumstances under which his statement was taken in 2021 by CID headquarters investigators.
However, the verdict and sentencing could have repercussions for the other two defendants.
Read more:
