Pakistani murder suspect still held in the south

A Limassol court on Monday ordered a Pakistani male, who is wanted in the north for killing a Turkish Cypriot artist, to remain in remanded custody through December 6.

Muhammad Salman, the 23-year-old male suspect, was apprehended in Limassol on October 18 after his photograph was released by Turkish Cypriot media that raised the possibility he might have fled south.

He remains locked up in the Republic of Cyprus, facing charges of illegal entry and illegal stay, while previous reports of a possible murder investigation by CID Limassol have been retracted.

Salman is also wanted by Turkish Cypriot police in connection with the brutal murder of 53-year-old sculptor and ceramicist Hasan Isik Ozgocmen, who was beaten and strangled to death in late September in a forested area in Trikomo/Iskele.

Turkish Cypriot investigators said camera footage showed the suspect was with Ozgocmen on the day of the murder.

A Greek Cypriot judge initially ordered Salman to remain in prison until his next hearing on November 26, a month following his October 26 arraignment on two charges of illegal entry and illegal stay.

Previous deportation remarks not confirmed

Previous reports saying Salman was to be deported to Pakistan could not be independently verified by Knews, while Turkish Cypriot authorities have requested through the UN that the suspect be handed over to face murder charges in the north.

Sources told Knews the suspect was ordered on Monday to remain incarcerated until his next hearing, tentatively scheduled for December 6.