The five men who stand accused of allegedly orchestrating a Hamas-involved terrorist attack in Cyprus will be produced in a court in Larnaca.
Prosecutors on the island nation are trying to merge the three different cases lodged against them into one indictment, which will cover all five along with their offenses.
The investigation in question started when the two men, both Palestinian nationals aged 38 and 32, were arrested at Pentakomo. Further investigation led to the police discovering dangerous chemicals such as ammonium nitrate along with materials that can easily be combined to create explosives.
According to investigators, interrogation led to the 32-year-old confessing that he was recruited by Hamas to buy said materials and conduct target surveillance. Meanwhile, the other man was a physics teacher and had entered the country illegally via Turkish Cyprus.
Meanwhile, another Palestinian-origin Cypriot, aged 54, was found to have received packages with dangerous materials. While he was not granted bail and remains in police custody, he denies any involvement in the matter. Another man, a Cypriot national aged 41, thought to be the coordinator of the operation, was arrested by Indonesian authorities and sent back to Cyprus.
Finally, a Limassol resident aged 32 was arrested for allegedly arranging travel arrangements and logistics. The arrest was only made public recently.
Charges currently levied against these five include money laundering, participating in a criminal organization, conspiracy, and attempted murder. All court proceedings in this regard are currently not open to members of the public.
