Judge rejects remand for Svetlana

A judge threw out a remand request against a Russian woman, who became the target of a racist rant at a Larnaca parking lot last year, after she was detained by Limassol police on conspiracy charges in a separate case.

The suspect, identified by local media as Svetlana Zaitseva, was arrested after police issued a warrant in connection with an attempted residential burglary of a luxury apartment in Limassol on December 27.

Police were investigating the attempted burglary, according to local media, while focusing on three male suspects, one of whom has been arrested. The suspects, all described as Georgian nationals, were later linked to a white vehicle during the course of the investigation, while some local media reported that Zaitseva had just sold the car the previous week.

Police declined to comment on the current vehicle registration or a possible automobile purchase but sources told Knews that investigators issued an arrest warrant for Zaitseva after they ran the licence plate numbers and her name came up.

The arrest took place on January 1 with police requesting on Thursday an eight-day remand for Zaitseva on suspicion of conspiracy charges in connection with the attempted burglary case.

But sources told Knews the judge rejected the request, saying there was no probable cause or evidence of a crime committed in connection with the female suspect.

Zaitseva made headlines after she recorded video of an incident where two Greek Cypriot women appeared to attack her and verbally abuse her over a fender bender incident she had witnessed.

She was also critical of the police when she accused investigators of delaying prosecution against the two women, who were later charged with multiple offences under legislation against racism and xenophobia, including verbal abuse, assault, indecent behaviour, and use of threats.