Seven years for one of suspects in Limassol court fire

One of the suspects accused of setting fire to the evidence room at the Limassol court last year was sentenced to seven years in prison on Monday.

Last month, the 33-year-old pleaded guilty alongside a second suspect, saying he was the lookout during the incident, which took place on July 21, 2021.

Announcing the sentence, the court emphasised that this was an unprecedented case in the history of the republic, and stands out from other cases.

“The offenders went so far as to set fire to the area where justice is served, namely the area where evidence is stored, in order to destroy evidence of a specific, ongoing case.”

The arson was related to another case, which is pending before the criminal court concerning arrests made in the wake of police uncovering a meth lab in Zakaki in June 2020.

One of the suspects in the drugs case, a 31-year-old is also one of the two accused of setting fire to the evidence room in July 2021.

He and the 33-year-old changed their plea on April 13 admitting to the arson, and the case was set for sentencing on April 27.

“The same person also admitted to number of offences in the case of the methamphetamine manufacturing laboratory,” Limassol CID chief Lefteris Kyriakou told the Cyprus News Agency at the time.

Two others are still wanted in connection with the arson who allegedly received instructions from the 31-year-old.

Police were notified of the fire in July at around 1.45am by a passer-by who saw smoke coming out of a window on the second floor. The perpetrators had left behind a ladder when they fled the scene.