A 69-year-old Greek Cypriot man appeared in court in the north on Friday, accused of sexually assaulting a hitchhiker he had picked up.

The man allegedly picked up a 20-year-old male hitchhiker while driving on the Near East Boulevard outside of northern Nicosia, before grabbing the hitchhiker’s hands and then “placing his genitals on the hitchhiker’s trousers”.

The incident reportedly occurred on the morning of February 19.

The victim filed a report with the north’s police, and the man was intercepted at the Ledras Street crossing point on Thursday, where Turkish Cypriot police arrested him after a struggle.

Police said he did not admit to the crimes during questioning, and the man’s lawyer said his client had been “beaten”.

Judge Zehra Yalkut Bilgec ordered the man be remanded in custody for three days, and that he be examined by a doctor.

The police’s investigation into the matter is ongoing.