The Limassol Permanent Criminal Court is due to deliver its verdict on Friday in the trial of four people accused of the premeditated murder of Thanasis Kalogeropoulos, almost three years after he was killed in a seaside car park.
The 55-year-old was killed on October 30, 2023, in a car park next to a beachfront restaurant on Amathus Avenue. Accused one and four are alleged to have got out of a vehicle and fired repeatedly at Kalogeropoulos while he was inside his car. The other two are alleged to have acted as accomplices.
Besides premeditated murder, the most serious charge under the Criminal Code, the four face charges including conspiracy to murder, possession, transport and use of Category A and B firearms, possession, transport and use of explosives, and arson of a vehicle.
The defendants, now aged 43, 46, 24 and 23, have been held on remand at the Central Prisons since the start of the case.
Authorities have put strict security measures in place at the court ahead of the ruling.
The verdict was originally due on September 9, but the court could not finish writing it because of the volume of evidence.
More than 75 prosecution witnesses testified, most of them police officers, investigators and experts involved in gathering and assessing the evidence. Relatives of the victim, eyewitnesses and others also gave evidence.
More than 560 exhibits were submitted, including CCTV footage from the area where the killing took place, and videos and conversations retrieved from the defendants’ telecommunications data.
After the prosecution closed its case, the court ruled there was a prima facie case and called on the defendants to present a defence. They chose to exercise their right to silence, while the defence called expert witnesses who testified under oath.
