Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-12-01

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Victim's mother `very disappointed' at Supreme Court ruling

[02] UN ejects demonstrators from buffer zone

[03] Guarded reactions to Athens talks on missiles

[04] Sunday's downpour just a drop in the dam

[05] Youths remanded after 'attack on soldiers'

[06] Presidential party felled by outbreak of food poisoning

[07] Human rights campaign targets the young

[08] October tourist arrivals up by 9%

[09] Wave of illegal breakwaters

[10] Safety first on World Aids Day

[11] Last-minute penalty secures points for Anorthosis

[01] Victim's mother `very disappointed' at Supreme Court ruling

Jensen killers' jail term cut to 25 years

THREE former British soldiers yesterday had their life sentences reduced to 25 years for the brutal slaying of Danish tour guide Louise Jensen in 1994.

"For the crime of manslaughter a prison sentence of 25 years is imposed on each of the convicted," the Supreme Court ruled, overturning the life sentences. Legal sources said the three would probably serve 15 years.

Before announcing sentence, Supreme Court president George Pikis, who sat with two other judges, described the court's "horror" when reading the 21- page ruling.

"We, like the Assize Court, feel repugnance for the crime the convicted committed," said Pikis, describing how the three soldiers struck the naked Louise Jensen 15 times with a spade.

Justin Fowler, 30, from Falmouth, Alan Ford, 30, from Birmingham, and Geoff Pernell, 27, from Oldbury, West Midlands, were jailed for life without remission, in March 1996, for the abduction and manslaughter of Jensen four years ago.

None of the three soldiers appeared visibly affected by the court's decision. "I'm not bothered really. It's par for the course, really," Pernell said before being led away to prison.

Louise Jensen's parents were in court to hear the judges' ruling. Her mother expressed bitter disappointment after the proceedings. "I thought they should be kept in prison for life. I'm very disappointed," said Annette Jensen.

She was seen blinking back tears as the gruesome events of her daughter's death were relived in court. Her husband, Poul Jensen, was less critical of the decision. "We must remember they are still murderers and the court has seen this."

Although upholding the three killers' appeal against their life sentence, the Supreme Court, Cyprus' highest court, still imposed a stiff jail term for manslaughter, considering the average is 15 years.

"The indifference of the appellants and their merciless behaviour rank the murder which they committed in the highest degree of seriousness of crimes of manslaughter and the sentence must reflect this," said Pikis.

"The sentence we impose can be none other than to reflect the seriousness of the crime the appellants committed, and at the same time to warn each one who seeks to destroy, humiliate and take away a human life that he can't look to the leniency of the court."

The appeal against life imprisonment was on the grounds that they sentences were excessively harsh and the result of faulty legal reasoning. "We have won the appeal even though we were looking for a maximum sentence of 20 years, but at least we got their life sentences overturned," said defence lawyer Tassos Katsikides.

Legal sources said the three would most probably serve 15 years of the 25- year sentence, taking into account good behaviour, time cut from the sentence during each presidential election and shortness of the prison year, which is nine months.

Since the sentence counts from the time the former soldiers were arrested in September, 1994, this could mean the three ex-members of the First Battalion Royal Greenjackets could be out of prison by 2010.

Pikis said the three could not be incarcerated indefinitely as their young age and clean criminal record, before committing the offence, were mitigating factors. That prompted a comment after the proceedings from Annete Jensen, who said: "The judge said they were young people but Louise was also a young girl."

The drunken state of the three was also taken into account by the Supreme Court who said it was an omission by the lower court not to consider the influence of alcohol when passing sentence.

Jensen, 23, was sexually assaulted and brutally beaten to death with a spade after being abducted near a petrol station in Ayia Napa on September 13, 1994. She was a local representative for the Danish holiday company Fritidressor. Cyprus was her first foreign posting - she had arrived in February that same year.

When appeal proceedings got under way at the Supreme Court last May, the three ex-soldiers were aiming to walk free by

overturning their convictions on legal technicalities. But on October 5, Cypriot defence lawyers abandoned an appeal to try and overturn the convictions, deciding instead to concentrate on having their clients' sentences reduced.

Their legal arguments then focused on the length of sentence which the defence lawyers described as "excessively harsh" and "unprecedented" for a manslaughter conviction. In 1992 the Supreme Court had ruled that life meant life in Cyprus.

Appeal lawyers also argued that the criminal court did not take into consideration the intoxicated state of the trio as a mitigating circumstance, and the fact it was not proven who actually dealt the fatal blow to Jensen.

During the prolonged criminal trial, one of the most expensive in Cypriot legal history, the three soldiers declined to testify and their police statements were submitted as part of their defence.

None of the three has ever given a clear picture as to who struck the fatal blow with the spade.

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

[02] UN ejects demonstrators from buffer zone

SCUFFLES broke out between Greek Cypriots and police and UN peacekeepers at the Ledra Palace checkpoint in Nicosia yesterday when an anti-occupation group crossed into the buffer zone.

The trouble occurred when around 15 protesters tried to enter the occupied areas just hours after some 1,300 pilgrims had gone to the north to visit Apostolos Andreas Monastery.

They said they only wanted to cross the Green Line and go north to repair the badly dilapidated monastery. They had arrived at the checkpoint in the morning with a team of architects and builders and with trucks full of building materials.

The protesters were members of the anti-occupation group Pak which regularly pickets the checkpoint along with the black-clad mothers of some of the Greek Cypriots missing since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

At around noon a small group managed to barge through a police line at the government checkpoint and asked UN peacekeepers to let them pass with their trucks.

When the UN soldiers refused the protestors began pushing their way through the peacekeepers in an effort to reach the Turkish Cypriot checkpoint some 100 metres away.

"We managed to get within 30 metres of the Turkish Cypriot checkpoint," said Pak leader Aris Hadjipanayiotou, who was one of the 15.

One of the mothers of the missing was slightly injured when she caught her hand in barbed wire erected by police to stop other protesters entering the buffer zone. No other injuries were reported.

On Sunday Pak had written to Unficyp chief of Mission Dame Anne Hercus, saying that they wanted to take a team to repair the monastery after receiving permission from Archbishop Chrysostomos to do so.

The letter said no repairs had been carried out at the monastery since 1974.

Hadjipanayiotou told the Cyprus Mail that they have now written a new letter to UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan protesting against their treatment yesterday.

"The UN did not let us pass and we fought with them for our right to pass without any restriction," Hadjipanayiotou said. "We don't want to have to get permission to travel to Apostolos Andreas which is in our own country."

A statement from Unficyp said it is the force's responsibility to control and authorise entry into the buffer zone.

"In deciding which movements and activities to authorise, Unficyp is guided by the principle that no movement or activity should jeopardise the security of either side, the buffer zone itself, or the safety of the individuals involved," the statement said.

It said that Unficyp has never allowed large groups of demonstrators to cross unless specifically authorised by both sides, as in yesterday's pilgrimage for which specific procedures had been agreed by the two sides.

"The group organised by Pak falls outside these rules as they chose not to follow the procedure agreed...," the statement said.

"Pak staged an unauthorised demonstration in front of the Ledra Palace Hotel... therefore Unficyp requested Cypol (Cyprus police) assistance to escort them out of the buffer zone as the demonstrators would not leave voluntarily."

Early yesterday morning - the Feast Day of the Apostle Andreas - the pilgrims crossed to the north aboard 35 buses. No incidents were reported.

Reports said there were plain-clothes Turkish Cypriot security men on each of the buses. After a day of prayer the pilgrims returned in the late afternoon.

Most of those who made the trip were the old, the seriously ill and those who had come especially from abroad to make the visit. It was the fourth such visit in the past 18 months.

The pilgrimages are allowed by the Turkish Cypriot side in return for Turkish Cypriots being allowed to visit the Kokkina enclave and the Hala Sultan Tekke in Larnaca.

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

[03] Guarded reactions to Athens talks on missiles

MINISTERS and party leaders were guarded yesterday in their reaction to last Friday's Athens meeting between President Glafcos Clerides and Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis to discuss the S-300 missiles.

Sources said no decision was reached at the two-hour meeting, with Simitis pushing for the S-300s to be stored on Crete, and Clerides sticking to his guns over their Cyprus deployment.

Although both reportedly agreed not to publicise the difference of opinion, Akel leader Demetris Christofias said yesterday that from Simitis' statements it was obvious Greece felt that Cyprus alone should not decide about the missiles.

Christofias agreed, saying that if Cyprus expected Greece to help protect it in case of a Turkish attack, then it should also consider the country's opinion on the S-300s.

"It is clear, to us at least, that the Prime Minister of Greece and the Greek government do not want to leave it up to the National Council and the Cyprus government," he said.

Disy leader Nicos Anastassiades said that the government should stick to its original decision. Asked if he could confirm statements by Greek Defence Minister Akis Tzohatzopoulos that there had been no difference of opinion between Nicosia and Athens, Anastassiades said that "arguments were expanded, perhaps from different viewpoints and with somehow different thinking, but I can be more exact after I've been briefed by the president".

The Disy leader will see Clerides today to be briefed and has said he will make further statements afterwards.

Defence Minister Yiannakis Omirou, meanwhile, denied reports in the Greek press of a row between him and Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos in Athens. Describing the reports as "products of imagination" and "nothing to do with reality", he said good relations existed between the two of them and that they had even had the opportunity to talk about Pangalos' holiday in Choulou, in Omirou's native Paphos.

He also said Simitis has clearly stated that the S-300s are a matter for the Greek and Cypriot government to decide jointly.

Omirou refused to speculate about the visit of socialist Edek leader Vassos Lyssarides to Greece. He said Lyssarides, who left yesterday, was the leader of the socialist party which maintains close ties with its ruling Greek counterpart Pasok, and as such it was natural for representatives of the two parties to meet frequently to exchange opinions. The visit was just routine, he said.

Before leaving Larnaca Airport the Edek chief said he was going to Greece for party reasons, not governmental ones, and that his party's position on the missiles had not changed. Their deployment was, he said "an expression of specific views".

Lyssarides added, however, that he will meet Tzohatzopoulos to discuss the missiles and that he would be briefed on the Clerides-Simitis meeting.

It is widely thought that the Greek government hopes Lyssarides can later persuade Clerides to agree to deploy the missiles on Crete.

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

[04] Sunday's downpour just a drop in the dam

NICOSIA may have received more rain in a day on Sunday than it normally gets in the whole month of November, but the deluge made almost no difference to fast-disappearing reservoir reserves.

Nicosia fire brigade personnel were yesterday still busy pumping out the last of the 370 homes, shops and factories flooded by the torrential rain.

Pumping teams from the Larnaca and Limassol fire brigades had to be drafted in on Sunday as rising waters had distraught callers jamming the Nicosia brigade's emergency lines.

Fire service spokesman Stelios Ioannou said no-one had been injured in the flash floods, though there had been some close calls. "There were some old ladies who were in danger, but luckily we managed to save them," he said.

The Nicosia area received 35 mm of rain on Sunday. The average rainfall for Nicosia for November is only 33 mm. After months of almost no rain at all, heavy rain also fell in many other areas.

For the island as a whole, November was a very wet month, with total rainfall reaching 133 per cent of the average.

But Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous said the downpours had done little to help refill the island's near-dry dams.

"We cannot say that the overall picture has changed," the minister said.

He said only "insignificant" amounts of Sunday's rainfall had actually reached dams, with most of the water being quickly soaked up by land parched during the prolonged drought.

The two largest reservoirs, Asprokremnos in the Paphos area and Kouris in the Limassol area, received only 81,000 and 87,000 cubic metres of water respectively. About 45,000 cubic metres were pumped out of Kouris during the same period.

The good news, Themistocleous said, was that, with the land now very wet, any subsequent rainfall should run off into dams.

"It is not possible with one or two days of rain to get flow into dams, but these rains create the preconditions for the next rains to give rise to flow into dams," he said.

The Meteorological Service predicts only light and isolated showers over the next few days.

"We need continuous rain to get flow into dams," the minister said yesterday.

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

[05] Youths remanded after 'attack on soldiers'

Larnaca District Court remanded Christos Michael, 17, and Alexandros Franceskos, 18, so they could help police with enquiries concerning actual bodily harm, carrying an offensive weapon and causing malicious damage.

The two were arrested on Sunday after three British soldiers stationed at Dhekelia said they had been attacked by about 10 youths in Larnaca.

One of the soldiers was reported to have been slightly hurt during a fracas when the three went to get into a taxi and were chased by youths who had been drinking in the same bar.

"All I know is the soldiers involved got into a taxi which was surrounded by about ten youths who apparently attacked the taxi and threatened the soldiers," British Bases spokesman Captain Jon Brown said yesterday.

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

[06] Presidential party felled by outbreak of food poisoning

PRESIDENT Clerides got more then a headache from his trip to Greece to discuss the controversial S-300 missiles at the weekend. He suffered a bellyache as well after falling foul of a mini-outbreak of salmonella.

When he returned to the island late on Sunday night, Clerides did not make any comments to reporters and was whisked away to get some rest.

He had been in Greece for a crucial meeting with Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis on where to deploy the missiles.

Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides, Undersecretary to the President Pantelis Kouros and Greek Ambassador to Cyprus Kyriacos Roudousakis and his wife were among those affected by the food poisoning. Cyprus's ambassador to Greece Christodoulos Piardis suffered the worst - he had to be hospitalised briefly.

Only government spokesman Christos Stylianides appeared unaffected, and even carried out one of the president's duties, the inauguration of a statue in Patras.

Clerides and his entourage were reported as having dined at the home of a shipowner in Patras on Friday night. Stylianides, whose own daily briefing did not take place yesterday, said it appeared the higher echelons of the government had been affected by a mild outbreak of salmonella poisoning.

Clerides was examined by doctors in Greece before returning to Cyprus.

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

[07] Human rights campaign targets the young

Aimed squarely at younger Cypriots, the campaign includes a Greek version of the UN booklet Human Rights - Questions and Answers, which will be distributed at schools along with posters bearing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In addition, there will be further hand-outs produced for distribution in the army and among children.

Speaking at the launch yesterday, Committee President George Christofides said that now the committee has greater links with similar organisations abroad, it will promote human rights in general and not only those pertaining to the Cyprus problem as it has done up until now.

He said the committee sees targeting the young as being of paramount importance, and believes the subject should be taught in school.

Through education, he added, the committee is trying to "make people understand what we mean by human rights and what their rights and obligations are".

Referring specifically to Cyprus, Christofides said that human rights were "a weapon through which we can promote the injustice done against Cyprus because of the 1974 Turkish invasion".

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

[08] October tourist arrivals up by 9%

The data, from the Department of Statistics and Research, show that most (86.1 per cent) travellers to the island - excluding excursionists - arrived on flights or ships from Europe.

Of those, 70.3 per cent came from EU countries, led, as usual, by Britain (37.8 per cent), followed by Greece (9.3 per cent), Germany (8.5 per cent), Israel (7.3 per cent), Switzerland (5.9 per cent), Sweden (4.9 per cent), Egypt (3.4 per cent) and Russia (3.4 per cent).

During the same month, 38,406 residents returned from trips abroad, compared to the 28,703 during the same month of 1997, the data showed.

Of these, 39.1 per cent had been in Greece, 13.2 per cent in Britain, 12.6 per cent in Israel and 4.1 per cent in Egypt. A total of 66.6 per cent said they had gone abroad on holiday, while 24.8 per cent listed business and 3.9 per cent studies as their reasons for travelling abroad.

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

[09] Wave of illegal breakwaters

The Interior Ministry is investigating reports that several beach-front hotels, apartment blocks and other tourism amenities built breakwaters without a permit.

In some cases legal action has begun against alleged offenders, but there has been little progress since the government appears to have no policy on the issue.

Speaking for the Interior Ministry yesterday, First Administration Officer Maria Limpoura told the Cyprus Mail the government will take "every necessary action once the reports are completed". She said it was not clear when this would be.

An Interior Ministry report says the problem is most extensive in Limassol, where the majority of illegal breakwaters were built between 1970 and 1980. It says the Limassol authorities are now carefully monitoring new construction to avoid further offences being committed.

There are also a few cases of illegal construction in Ayia Napa and Paralimni, while all the breakwaters in Paphos and the free Famagusta area were built with the required licences being granted.

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

[10] Safety first on World Aids Day

Cyprus will mark the day on Saturday under the slogan 'The power of change: Youth and the Worldwide Campaign Against Aids'.

Members of the Cyprus Family Planning Association and the Health Ministry's National Aids Committee will be out in force at the weekend, handing out leaflets.

The motto 'Play Safe' will appear in Cyprus and internationally on posters and flyers along with the photograph of Brazilian footballer Ronaldo.

Official figures show that 16 new cases were diagnosed in Cyprus during the first 11 months of the year. This brings the number of people with Aids since 1986 to 297.

Of these, 178 sufferers are Cypriot, 153 of them male. Young people have been worst affected, with 80 per cent or 111 of the sufferers between the ages of 20 and 40.

Almost all the Cypriots who have fallen victim to Aids over the past four years say they were infected in Cyprus, 9 out of 10 after sexual contact.

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

[11] Last-minute penalty secures points for Anorthosis

HISTORY repeated itself in Limassol on Sunday as champions Anorthosis scored from a last minute penalty-kick to defeat Ael 3-2.

Last season, the game looked to be heading for a 2-2 draw when the referee penalised the Ael keeper for holding the ball for too long. Anorthosis were awarded an inderict free-kick inside the area and scored the winner.

On Sunday the league leaders got another lucky break when referee Kapitanis awarded them a penalty kick in the last minute of the game for no apparent reason. Krismarevic converted the kick to secure a victory his side hardly deserved.

The champions dominated the first half after being put in front by Okkas in the fourth minute. But Ael came back strongly in the second, taking a 2-1 lead thanks to goals by Sophocleous and Neophytou.

Michaelovic equalised for the visitors in the 68th minute, while 10 minutes from time Ael were awarded a penalty. Sophocleous shot was saved by keeper Panayiotou. Both teams played the last 10 minutes with 10 men, one from each side being shown the red card.

A penalty-kick also decided the Nicosia derby between Omonia and Apoel which the former won by 2-1. Apoel were the better side in the first half, taking the lead through Costa who so his powerful shot go in off the post, but squandered the chances to put hte game beyond Omonia's reach.

The second half belonged to Omonia who took complete control and equalised through Malekkos at the halfway point. With 15 minutes to go, Stavrou brought down Malekkos and Rauffman converted the penalty that secured three points lifted Omonia to second place in the table on 23 points, two behind Anorthosis.

Achna also scored their winner from a penalty kick in the 3-2 defeat of Alki in a match that saw the referee award three penalty kicks.

Six penalties were awarded in the weekend's seven fixtures, four down on the record 10 awarde in the previous weekend's fixtures.

Achna had raced to a two goal lead through Liasis (pen.) and Mousic, but the home side drew level midway through the second half through Honni (pen.) and Constantinou. Neocleous converted the third kick of the game, seven minutes from time.

Aek scored their third away win of the season at Salamina thanks to a goal by Eleftheriou in the 75th minute. It was the sixth defeat for Salamina who were the better side.

In the derby of the two promoted sides, bottom club Doxa slumped to their eighth defeat of the season, going down 2-1 to second from bottom Aris.

The other promoted side Olympiakos have been faring much better, enjoying mid-table security in eighth place. On Sunday they defeated Evagoras 2-1 for their fourth win of the season.

Finally Apollonas and Paralimni played a 1-1 draw.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article