Two men appeared in court under heavy security over torture videos showing seven people being brutally beaten at a casino office in Pyla.
A 48-year-old Cypriot national and a 27-year-old Palestinian had their detention extended for five more days at Larnaca District Court yesterday. Police found 25 videos on the first suspect’s mobile phones showing victims being beaten to force confessions or extract money.
Police are hunting a third man and trying to identify others involved.
Larnaca CID re-arrested the 48-year-old on 6 February. He’s already on trial for an unprecedented shooting and brawl in central Larnaca on 17 January.
Investigators have identified four victims, some of whom gave statements. The third victim said he transferred his vehicle by signing a transfer form to a third person “under a regime of fear and threat.”
The fifth victim gave a statement recognising himself in the videos and identifying the first suspect. The sixth victim was identified but is abroad. The fourth victim gave a statement and went to Nicosia hospital for medical treatment after the abuse.
Further checks of the first suspect’s phone found additional evidence relating to the fourth victim and both suspects.
Police will take 15 more statements and are checking hospitals and private clinics to see whether any victims sought medical care after being tortured.
Officers are also seeking two pistols shown in the videos, knives and other weapons. CCTV systems found in Pyla are under scrutiny.
What the videos show
According to testimony given at court during the detention proceedings:
First victim: Sitting on a grey sofa in the office wearing shorts and a T-shirt with no shoes, speaking Greek. He has head injuries and a swollen right eye. The 48-year-old asks if he burnt his car, then punches him in the head, swears at him and spits on him. The victim’s shorts are wet – he appears to have urinated during the torture. In another video, the victim lies on the sofa whilst the 48-year-old stands over him, hitting his head with a knife blade as he screams. The 48-year-old says to take out the victim’s genitals to cut them off, then spits in his face and knees him in the ribs.
Second victim: A foreign national sitting on a chair in the office, begging not to be hit. The first suspect appears holding a metal object and beats him viciously on the head, demanding money in English. The victim cries as blood runs from his nose. In another video, the 27-year-old beats him as he cries, knocking him from the chair. The first suspect’s voice asks if he will hand over the money. A third man wanted by police also beats him.
Third victim: Sitting on the sofa whilst the first suspect puts a pistol in his mouth, leaving him in shock. The victim is then beaten. The first suspect holds a mobile phone, apparently showing a photo, asking if he knows the person. The victim answers in monosyllables with the pistol still in his mouth.
Fourth victim: The first suspect is on top of him holding a knife and a sharpening tool. The 48-year-old sharpens the knife, asking when the victim will pay what he owes. The victim says in two weeks. The first suspect hits him in the face, threatening to stab him, then strikes his left arm with the blade. In another video, the fourth victim sits on the sofa with blood running from his nose, trying to stop it with a tissue. The wanted man then beats him as he begs him to stop.
Fifth victim: Sitting on the sofa wearing a T-shirt with what appear to be bloodstains. Voices shout in Arabic. His trousers and underwear are pulled down. The wanted man beats him with a belt on the lower part of his body whilst his lips bleed.
Sixth victim: Appears in 16 videos filmed in the office. He is beaten, with blood running from his lips and face. The first suspect’s voice is heard “interrogating” him on various security matters, believing he was watching his house on someone else’s orders to harm him. At one point the victim sits on the sofa holding his head with both hands whilst the first suspect shouts, asking who sent him to kill him. The wanted man appears with two other people who throw him from the sofa and kick him.
Seventh victim: Sitting on the sofa whilst the first suspect holds a gold-coloured pistol and a knife, demanding money. The first suspect slaps him in the face then spits on him, continuing to hit him. A second person, not visible, kicks him in the face.
