A Syrian national, aged 47, will face an eight-month prison sentence for threats to cause havoc Paphos, incited by him and other compatriots.
The defendant was brought before the Paphos District Court today. He was held in the Central Prisons since last August.
He was subsequently sentenced to six months in prison for incitement to violence and eight months for incitement to commit a criminal offense.
The court ordered the immediate execution of these concurrent sentences.
On August 27, a group of demonstrators broke from a far-right “anti-ghettoisation” protest in Chloraka and attacked migrants, while breaking the windows of shops and homes of Syrian residents with stones and injured people inside.
The following day, during a counter-protest by migrant residents of Chloraka, the 47-year-old made inflammatory statements to the media, which led to his charges.
The defendant’s defense lawyer stated that his client had promptly admitted to the charges of incitement to violence and incitement to commit a criminal offense. He expressed remorse and attributed his actions to emotional stress, pointing out that some of the individuals that suffered from the Chloraka incidents were his relatives.
The defense lawyer further mentioned that his client had a clean criminal record and had been a law-abiding resident of the Republic of Cyprus for the past 30 years. He appealed to the court for maximum leniency in the sentencing.
In October, two Greek Cypriots were sentenced for their participation in the attacks of August, with a 19-year-old receiving a €600 fine and a 23-year-old sentenced to six months in prison with a three-year suspension and a €600 fine. Both had admitted their participation in the attacks.
