Man facing Hamas terrorism and murder conspiracy charges remanded in Cyprus after bail overturned

Local gazaIsraelLarnacaPalestineTop Newswar Man facing Hamas terrorism and murder conspiracy charges remanded in Cyprus after bail overturned Cyprus Hamas Network Three Suspects Committed For Trial As Fourth Walks Free Relevant News Man facing Hamas terrorism and murder conspiracy charges remanded in Cyprus after bail overturned 29 June 2026 Troodos: Cyprus’s diamond in the rough 29 June 2026 Tony Blair-Christodoulides meeting on Cyprus Board of Peace summit scrapped over flight delay 29 June 2026 Fanis Makrides 29 June 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Cyprus’s Court of Appeal has ordered the remand in custody of the third defendant in a terrorism case linked to an alleged Hamas plot against Israeli interests in Cyprus, overturning a lower court decision that had released him on bail conditions. The 54-year-old, one of three men of Palestinian origin facing 11 serious charges including terrorism and conspiracy to murder, will remain in custody until early August, when the Criminal Court — to which the case has been referred — will rule on his continued detention. The case’s first hearing before the Criminal Court is scheduled for August 6. The Court of Appeal acted on an application by the Law Office of the Republic, filed on the instructions of the Attorney General, challenging the June 12 decision by the Larnaca District Court to release the 54-year-old on bail. The lower court had required him to sign a guarantee of €1 million with creditworthy guarantors, surrender his travel documents and report to a police station four times a week. Senior state attorney Andreas Aristeidis, representing the Law Office of the Republic, argued that the Larnaca District Court had erred both on the facts and in the application of relevant legal principles, and that its discretionary power had been exercised improperly. The Court of Appeal agreed. The other two defendants, aged 33 and 38, have been in custody since June 12. According to the indictment, the first two defendants formed the core of the alleged plot, while the 54-year-old is accused of arranging the transfer of packages containing precursor substances for making explosives. Search warrants were executed at an apartment in Larnaca and a villa at Governor’s Beach, described as the defendants’ headquarters. The case is allegedly part of a wider network. Authorities in Cyprus and Greece said they dismantled an alleged Hamas-linked cell spanning both countries, arresting five people in total and identifying a sixth suspect who remains at large. A 37-year-old Palestinian man was arrested in Crete on June 6 in a joint operation by Greece’s intelligence service and anti-terrorism police, and is believed to have been in contact with the individuals arrested in Cyprus. The suspects had reportedly met Hamas members in Istanbul, and one of those detained in Cyprus told investigators that their recruiters had planned attacks in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and several countries in Asia, where cell members received explosives training. In its ruling on Monday, the Court of Appeal identified specific errors in the lower court’s assessment of the facts. It found the lower court had wrongly concluded that a relative of the 54-year-old had acted as he did because the defendant was abroad, when the evidence showed the relative’s intention was to assist an acquaintance of that relative. The court also found the lower court had wrongly recorded that the defendant had told the relative the package contained camping equipment, noting the source of that claim was not established by the evidence. One of the packages bore a flammable materials warning, which the relative noticed and which led him to store it in his garage. On the question of remand, the court found the evidence sufficiently connected the 54-year-old to the charges to meet the legal threshold for a probable conviction at this stage, without ruling out the reasonable prospect of acquittal. It concluded that the lower court’s findings on the defendant’s ties to the Republic and his personal circumstances did not justify the imposition of bail conditions. “The offences he faces carry multi-year prison sentences, including life imprisonment on the terrorism charge,” the court said. “It does not appear that there is a state of affairs which, on a reasonable assessment, would reduce the probability of flight, to avoid the potential consequences of a serious case such as this.” The ties to the Republic cited by the lower court, it added, were not sufficient to outweigh the seriousness of the offences, the probability of conviction and the potential sentence. Phileleftheros has previously reported that four of the 54-year-old’s children serve in Cyprus security forces. Read more: Cyprus Hamas network: three suspects committed for trial as fourth walks free Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Troodos: Cyprus’s diamond in the rough Tony Blair-Christodoulides meeting on Cyprus Board of Peace summit scrapped over flight delay When a €10,000 sculpture was sold for scrap metal Row erupts over Nicosia exhibition featuring artist behind occupied north flag Overnight pharmacies on Monday, June 29 Protest planned outside Presidential Palace over Gaza Board of Peace meeting in Cyprus Larnaca road due by 2026 won’t be ready before 2031, authorities confirm Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.