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A Turkish Cypriot court in the north has sentenced Rudolf to seven months, while authorities in the south are still asking for the man and his partner Sifis to be handed over to face attempted murder charges.
Balazov Miroslav, also known as Dydi Rudolf, was sentenced on March 22 to seven months on illegal entry charges, after the 39-year-old Slovakian was arrested in Kyrenia back in January. It was not clear whether Rudolf's jail time since his arrest would count towards his sentence.
Law enforcement in the south are asking for Rudolf to be handed over to Republic of Cyprus authorities to face attempted murder charges in connection with a drive-by shooting in late November.
Sifis is still facing trial in the north while Turkish Cypriot authorities have reportedly asked for a murder suspect who is still incarcerated in Limassol
Police in the south are also asking for a second suspect, 40-year-old Greek Cypriot Josef “Sifis” Josef, who was also arrested in the north two weeks before Rudolf was apprehended. Sifis, who is a prime suspect in the drive-by, was detained in Famagusta by Turkish Cypriot police on charges of illegal entry and weapons possession.
Sifis is still facing trial in the north while Turkish Cypriot authorities have reportedly asked for a murder suspect who is still incarcerated in Limassol.
Muhammad Salman, a 23-year-old male from Pakistan, was apprehended in Limassol in October after his photograph was released by Turkish Cypriot media that raised the possibility he might have fled south.
Salman remains locked up in the Republic of Cyprus, facing deportation on charges of illegal entry and illegal stay. Law enforcement officials in the south had not ruled out that a political decision or other delays could affect the outcome of the immigration proceedings. Sources told Knews the suspect could be detained until late January and then would have to be deported or his case “otherwise handled” at a political level.
The official position of Cyprus police is that Salman's detention in the south is unrelated to other alleged crimes in the north. According to Turkish Cypriot media, Salman is wanted for beating and strangling to death 53-year-old arts educator Hasan Isik Ozgocmen back in September.
