Pakistani murder suspect’s detention extended

A Pakistani male, who is wanted in the north for murder, has been ordered by a Limassol judge to remain in jail up to three months, pending immigration or political developments.

(Click here for an update to the story)

Muhammad Salman, a 23-year-old male from Pakistan, 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of illegal entry and illegal stay, while previous reports of a possible murder investigation by CID Limassol have been retracted.

A Limassol Court official told Knews that Salman appeared in court on Tuesday, December 11, and was ordered by a judge to remain incarcerated up to three months starting from his original arraignment date on October 26.

This means the suspect could stay in a Limassol prison cell through 26 January 2019, unless immigration officials deport him to his native country sooner or a political decision is taken by Nicosia authorities.

In the meantime, Knews understands that Turkish Cypriot officials on the bicommunal crime committee continue to make efforts through the UN to secure Salman’s handover from the south to the north.

Law enforcement officials in the Republic of Cyprus have not ruled out that a political decision or other delays could affect the outcome of the immigration proceedings.

Salman is facing charges of illegal entry and illegal stay in the south, while he is also wanted by Turkish Cypriot police in connection with the brutal murder of 53-year-old arts educator Hasan Isik Ozgocmen.

Ozgocmen was beaten and strangled to death in late September in a forested area in Trikomo/Iskele.

Cyprus police insist that Salman's detention is unrelated to other alleged crimes.