Nicosia criminal court said on Tuesday it would pronounce sentence next month on two Hungarian nationals who pleaded guilty to charges of promoting the ‘usurpation’ of Greek Cypriot properties in the north.

Sentencing has been set for May 9.

The two defendants, both female, live and work in the south. Via their personal Facebook pages, they promoted and advertised Greek Cypriot properties located in the Kalogrea and Trahonas-Ayios Amvrosios areas of Kyrenia.

They were acting for or on behalf of a company by the name of Cyprus Constructions.

The first defendant, a now retired beautician, pleaded guilty to 21 of the 63 counts on the indictment sheet. The second defendant, a hairdresser, pleaded guilty to six of the 63 counts.

The prosecution dropped the remaining counts listed on the indictment.

These are the first guilty pleas in cases involving ‘usurpation’ of Greek Cypriot properties, according to the Cyprus News Agency.

In court on Tuesday, the defendants’ attorneys filed motions for a mitigated sentence.

The lawyer for the first defendant said the woman was not a professional real estate agent and that via Facebook she was “directing” interested buyers to the company Cyprus Constructions.

For the second defendant, her lawyer argued that she had no criminal record until now and has lived in the south for 15 years. She has also been held at the central prisons for the last seven months. During this time her father passed, and she was unable to attend the funeral – which the lawyer described as “punishment on its own”.

The two women will remain in police custody until court sentencing.