Newsroom
The murder case against three of the six men accused over the killing of Limassol businessman Stavros Demosthenous has been dropped, cutting the number of defendants still facing trial for the fatal ambush in half.
The Legal Service announced the decision before the Limassol Criminal Court on Tuesday. No reason was immediately given for ending the prosecution against the three men, who had been listed as the first, second and third defendants.
One of them, a 30-year-old man, still faced a separate charge of stealing a vehicle. The charge was added to the case on Tuesday, and he admitted it.
The three men had previously been linked by investigators to different parts of the alleged preparation for the killing.
One 30-year-old was accused of involvement in buying and selling the motorcycle allegedly used by the gunmen to escape after setting fire to their van.
A second 30-year-old, who is already serving a prison sentence in another case, was accused of giving instructions from inside the Central Prisons for the motorcycle to be purchased.
The third man, aged 51, had been linked to a stolen vehicle allegedly used to follow Demosthenous before the shooting after investigators said they found his DNA inside it.
The prosecution’s decision means the case will now continue against three men: a 31-year-old and two 28-year-olds.
The 31-year-old is alleged to have driven the van from which the fatal shots were fired. Investigators also claim he ordered fake registration plates for a stolen vehicle and that his DNA was found on a hat dropped during the gunmen’s escape.
One of the two 28-year-olds is accused of being the gunman, while the other allegedly drove the getaway car used after the motorcycle was abandoned.
Demosthenous, 49, was shot dead near his Limassol home on Oct. 17, 2025, in a killing that shocked Cyprus and triggered a large police investigation.
All six defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges on June 5.
The trial had been scheduled to begin Tuesday and continue on another 11 dates through the end of September. Following the prosecution’s unexpected decision, however, the case moving forward now looks considerably different from the one originally brought before the court.
