Two men accused of carrying out attempted armed robberies at a bank in Kiti and a jewellery shop in Larnaca have been committed to stand trial before the Larnaca criminal court.

The defendants, aged 41 and 33, appeared before the Larnaca district court on Thursday, which referred the case to the criminal court for trial on October 7 at 8.30am.

The court is expected to decide on Friday whether the pair will remain in custody until the trial begins.

The 41-year-old is a European citizen, while the 33-year-old is a third-country national.

They face multiple charges, including attempted armed robbery of a bank, attempted armed robbery of a jewellery shop, possession of explosives, carrying firearms, causing grievous bodily harm, theft of vehicle registration plates and conspiracy to commit a felony.

Both defence lawyers objected to their clients remaining in custody pending trial.

Lawyer Adriana Klaedes, representing one of the defendants, argued that the prosecution’s evidence was insufficient and that the likelihood of a conviction was “remote”.

She said that despite the large amount of evidence collected during the investigation, none of it linked her client to the offences through DNA or fingerprint evidence.

Klaedes also argued that eyewitness descriptions did not match her client.

“The eyewitnesses described the people involved in the attempted bank robbery as young men,” she told the court. “Some described them as around 20 years old and others between 20 and 35, of average build, and speaking Greek – characteristics that do not correspond with my client.”

The lawyer representing the second defendant also opposed his client’s continued detention, arguing that his previous convictions were not sufficient grounds to justify remanding him in custody until trial. He also adopted the submissions made by Klaidi regarding the strength of the prosecution’s evidence.

The charges relate to two separate incidents investigated by police.

According to police, on the afternoon of June 19, two masked suspects arrived outside a bank branch in Kiti in a saloon car carrying sports bags. They approached the entrance but were unable to gain access because the bank’s controlled entry system prevented the doors from opening. After waiting for a few seconds, they returned to the vehicle and drove away.

The second incident occurred on July 6 at around 9am, when police received a report of an attempted armed robbery at a jewellery shop in Larnaca.

Police said a man dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt, wearing the vest of a food delivery company and a full-face black motorcycle helmet, entered the shop and pointed a handgun at the 73-year-old owner.

The shop owner resisted, prompting the suspect to strike him on the head with the firearm, causing a laceration. Despite his injuries, the victim managed to force the suspect out of the shop before any property was stolen.

The suspect fled in a waiting vehicle believed to have been driven by a second person, who police have previously said was likely a foreign national.

The shop owner was taken to hospital, where his head wound was stitched before he was discharged.