The 47-year-old who was arrested for the incidents in Chloraka last August will serve an eight-month prison sentence.
The 47-year-old was presented today before the Paphos District Court, where he was transferred from the Central Prisons.
The Court imposed a prison sentence of six months on the charge of causing or inciting violence and eight months on the charge of incitement to commit a criminal offense and ordered the sentence to be carried out immediately. The prison terms are concurrent.
The representative of the prosecuting authority, Spyros Chrysostomou, in his previous speech stated that on August 27, 2023, a peaceful demonstration for immigration took place in the community of Chloraka, while some individuals committed criminal offenses, which include, among other things, nuisance and malicious damage .
In relation to these incidents, he continued, six cases of malicious damage to residences, three cases of malicious damage to vehicles and an attack against a minor from Syria were reported, as well as an attack against two adults.
On October 28, the 47-year-old, he continued, made statements to the media for which he is accused.
He added that the incidents continued until August 29 in the community, noting that they could not determine in the context of the examinations whether those involved were of Arab or Cypriot origin. He also stated that during the incidents 17 persons were arrested, some of whom were of Arab origin and some of Cypriot origin.
In his plea, the 47-year-old's defense attorney, lawyer Christos Dimitriou, stated that his client immediately pleaded guilty to the charges of incitement or incitement to violence - for which a prison sentence of up to 12 months is provided - and to the offense of incitement to commit a criminal offense which entails imprisonment up to 3 years.
His client, continued Mr. Dimitriou, showed remorse and admitted the statements he made to the media, while apologizing for them, stating that they were made in the heat of the soul and due to emotional charge. As he said, some of the people who were hit during the events in Chloraka were also his relatives.
He added that there were no convictions against him and that he has a clean criminal record, which implies, as he said, that he has been a law-abiding citizen for the last thirty years of residence in the Republic of Cyprus.
The lawyer also stated that his client has an honest past, is the father of four minor children and is the family's protector. Based on the above, Mr. Dimitriou asked the Court to show maximum leniency.
Source: KYPE