Man sentenced to life in prison for role in murder
The man driving the motorcycle carrying the shooter in the murder of 34-year-old Demetris Andronikou in April was on Friday sentenced to life in prison by the Nicosia criminal court.
Yiasser Arar, 40, will now become the main prosecution witness against the other suspects in the case.
He admitted to being the person driving the motorcycle used in the shooting on April 23.
But lawyers said Arar had agreed to take part in a plan to intimidate Andronikou, however he realised his passenger was carrying a gun.
Andronikou died on May 28 from sepsis, a month after he was shot three times on the Palechori-Anthoupolis road.
Arar, who is married and has three children, admitted to the crime in his initial statement to police and said he regretted his part in the murder plot.
Friday’s court proceedings were a formality since Arar had admitted his part in the plot. He faced the charge of premediated murder.
At the previous hearing on Tuesday and after the facts were read for sentencing purposes, he said verbatim: “I feel bad about my mistake. I apologise. I have a wife and three children. From the first moment I tried to help and cooperated with the police. Whatever the court decides, I am willing to hear it.”
According to his testimony, he agreed to participate in a plan to intimidate Andronikou after transporting one of the other suspects on a motorcycle to seek out the victim.
It was only when he realised the passenger was carrying a gun, he realised it was a murder plan.
His own motivation was financial. According to his testimony, a personal debt led him to the decision to participate in the plot for money.
Arar who is from Syria, came to Cyprus in September 2017 and the following year, at his request, he was granted supplementary protection status.
Friday’s hearing was attended by the other five suspects in the case.
Omar Suleyman, 30, Mohammad Al Agka, 28, and Mohammad Kasab, 26 have admitted their guilt. The latter two had named Suleyman as the mastermind and had said two other suspects, Iosif Iosif, 46, aka ‘Sifis’, and Hamoud Khalil, 39, aka ‘Spyros’, were not involved in the plot.
The criminal court previously dismissed requests for ‘Sifis’ and ‘Spyros’ to be released on bail. They are due back in court on December 17.