Stephis Stephanou died on the 1st November in the General Hospital in the north of nicosia. he was aged 64. He was the Consul General of Ireland till 2003, a former town councillor for Famagusta, Director of Francoudi & Stephanou and founding member of DEKO.
He was arrested 10 days earlier without charge for possessing photographs of antiquities on his mobile phone (I have these pictures).
He was held in the Central Turkish Cypriot police station for 3 days where he was beaten severely, without being able to contact lawyer or family. This was told to me personally by himself the last time I saw him alive in prison and by his TC lawyer.
His captivity in prison was spent sleeping on a matress in the corridor on the floor apparently due to overcrowding.
The last to see him alive was myself on the Sunday prior to his death. He was helped to the visiting booth by 2 fellow GC inmates. When asked what was wrong with him he informed me that his entire left side was severly bruised and could neither walk nor breath in comfort. I informed him of the efforts we were making to get him out.
We had informed Christofias who in turn called Talat and requested him to release him on his own personal gaurantee that he will return for the trial. We informed Papadopoulos who assigned Mr Tjionis to the case who could not do anything either. We informed the police and the UN but again notheing could be done. Apparently the case was too serious!
Stephis was informed that despite the fact that no charges were pressed against him, he would have to stay in prison for up to 3 months until a trial was set (with NO charge). His lawyers were trying to plead with the authorities to allow him to stay in an apartment in the north under guard so as not to escape to the south prior to his trial but again....to no avail.
Stephis told me to do everything possible and not to let anyone at home know that he was in pain. He asked me to take care of his grandchildren, (my boy and girl) and said to let them know that their grandfather was a brave man and had stood up to the animals that beat him. I told him to stop being an idiot and that we'd straighten this whole thing out.
On Monday it was a national holiday in the north and were told that we could visit again. When we made a request however it was denied on the grounds of some rule that only prisoners who were charged with an offence could accept visitors (if my memory serves me correct)
On Tuesday mornign we were told that Stephis was suffering from pneumonia and had gone into septic shock due to septicemea. This in turn led to a heart attack. They allowed us to visit him on Wednesday when he was in a coma we made arrangements for him to be carried by ambulance to the south were specialists could see him but all were denied by the Turkish Cypriot ministry of interior....on Thursday he was dead.
They would not allow us to have his body until Saturday.
2 Autopsies were carried out one in the north and one in the south. The one in the north was carried out by a Turkish doctor who was flown in, 2 UN doctors and a GC doctor. The report found
1) No trace of cancer (as the TC papers printed out)
2) No trace of pneumonia
3) No trace of septic shock and septicemea
4) 5 broken ribs on his left lower abdomen and 6 on his right
5) Cause of death heart attack
When the Turkish doctor was asked how he explains the ribs his response was
" I suspect they were brokern while trying to rescucitate him."
The report continues to say that the breakage of lwoer ribs could not have been caused by resuscitation attempts. The report then continues to find that NO rescucitation attempts were made on Stephis. No bruising around the heart, no injections into the heart...nothing.
The second autopsy in the south found the same things although i do not have a copy of that report yet.
We buried my father in law on Tuesday.
http://www.cyprus-forum.com/cyprus14236.html&highlight=dts+father+law
Amazingly enough our resident reporter from bayarak, had nothing to say on this...and not only that...no news article from bayarak...strange cpz bayarak, the defender of free press just sat on the sidelines on this one...
Why is that?...effendi from bayarak?...oh Iknow not news worthy....I see
DT I apologise for opening deep wounds again, and again the best to your family my friend...Your father was indeed a brave man...
