Trial into alleged murder plot of Israeli businessmen to start in May

The trial proper in the case of an alleged murder plot of Israeli businessmen in Cyprus has been postponed to May 20, with the three suspects remaining in custody until then.

After several postponements due to pre-trial objections, the first hearing was set to take place on Monday – but the court granted a request filed by the defendants’ attorneys that they be given access to specific evidence possessed by the state prosecutors.

As such, the trial will now proceed on May 20.

The defendants’ lawyers want access to digital material held by the state prosecutors – photographs, videos and voice messages.

The attorneys representing the 38-year-old Azeri national – since named as Orhan Asadov – have also asked to inspect the pistol found in their client’s possession on September 27 last year.

According to the charge sheet, Asadov is the key person in the plot to assassinate Israeli nationals permanently residing in Cyprus.

The initial charge sheet included 50 counts for the charges of conspiracy to commit a felony, participation in a criminal organisation, and terrorism.

Authorities had initially charged six persons. Two were subsequently cleared of the charges and released after police determined they had no active participation in the planned crime.

A third person, a 21-year-old college student and a Cypriot citizen, has been handed a suspended 12-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to acting as an accessory. It’s understood this person has turned state witness.

The three remaining defendants are Asadov, the main suspect in the planned murders, arrested after he was found in possession of a pistol equipped with a suppressor in a parking space in Nicosia on September 27; Muzzafar Abbas, a 27-year-old Pakistani national; and a third person suspected of aiding and abetting Abbas.

Earlier, daily Politis reported that Asadov claimed he was paid €40,000 by a person of Arab origin to identify the intended Israeli targets. For his part, Abbas claimed that he was recruited by a Syrian.

The 38-year-old was previously said to have arrived from an airport in Russia and had been visiting the north almost daily.

As for Abbas, he was working as a delivery driver in Paphos and was identified by the authorities after texts linked him to the Azeri suspect. He led the police to a second pistol buried in a plastic bag in a field near his residence.

The 21-year-old college student is alleged to have assisted Abbas who asked him to bring a bag of clothes after the arrest of the Azeri national was announced. The student also allegedly transported Abbas in his car.