A Turkish national crossed illegally from the occupied north this morning, abducted his two-year-old child from the village of Mandria in Limassol district, and fled back across the buffer zone with an accomplice.
Authorities believe the father crossed through a gap in the buffer zone, where an accomplice was waiting with a white rental car. The lawyer representing the mother, Ioannis Michaelakis, told Philenews that the two then drove to her home, where — according to his client — the father attempted to drown her in a swimming pool while the accomplice seized the child and fled.
The mother was unable to activate her police alert app in time due to the sudden and violent nature of the attack, Michaelakis said, but activated it immediately after the suspects left. Authorities mobilised at once. The Bicommunal Technical Committee on Crime has also been informed.
The father appears to have returned to occupied Famagusta, from where he sent a video of the infant to the mother. The mother is currently at the police station assisting CID Limassol investigators in identifying the second suspect, having provided all available information to facilitate the investigation, according to Michaelakis.
The father is a Turkish national — not a Turkish Cypriot — who had been continuously threatening the mother, the lawyer said. According to the mother, he is also allegedly involved in drug-related activities.
The mother came to Cyprus last October and immediately reported the matter to police. She had been enrolled in the “Elpis” protection programme and had a police alert app on her phone. An arrest warrant for the father had been outstanding since November 2025, following a previous domestic violence complaint relating to incidents in the occupied north.
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