Three arrested for snatching corpse of former Cyprus president
Three arrested for snatching corpse of former Cyprus president
19:24, March 10, 2010 
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Three men were arrested Tuesday for allegedly snatching the corpse of former Cyprus president Tassos Papadopoulos.
The remains, stolen last December, were recovered Monday from a shallow grave in another cemetary after police received a tip-off and DNA tests identified it as that of the former leader.
The three suspects were two Greek Cypriots and an Indian. One of the Greek Cypriots is serving a life sentence for the murder of two women.
Police sources said the crime was masterminded by Andonis Prokopiou Kitas, a serial killer, from inside his prison cell.
Kitas made the headlines over a year ago when he escaped from a private hospital, where he had been living for a long time faking illness.
He made his escape on Dec. 12, 2008, the day Papadopoulos died of cancer at the age of 74, but was recaptured three months later.
The remains of the ex-president were stolen on Dec. 11, 2009, one day before family and political friends were to hold a memorial service for him on the anniversary of his death.
Police say the man from India was the anonymous caller who informed the Papadopoulos family where his remains had been hidden.
In a statement to the police, he said he and an accomplice had stolen the remains for ransom and also as leverage to secure favorable treatment of Kitas by prison authorities.
He said they had asked the family of the former president to pay 200,000 euros (270,000 U.S. dollars) for the return of his remains. When the family refused, they dropped their demand to 100,000 and later to 50,000 euros.
The family said they paid no ransom money on the advice of police.
The Indian man told police he decided to act alone and demanded money from the family in exchange for information. When they refused, he decided to give the information for free.
A police source told Xinhua the culprits had lost their nerve when they realized the police were close to identifying them.
Source: Xinhua
The remains, stolen last December, were recovered Monday from a shallow grave in another cemetary after police received a tip-off and DNA tests identified it as that of the former leader.
The three suspects were two Greek Cypriots and an Indian. One of the Greek Cypriots is serving a life sentence for the murder of two women.
Police sources said the crime was masterminded by Andonis Prokopiou Kitas, a serial killer, from inside his prison cell.
Kitas made the headlines over a year ago when he escaped from a private hospital, where he had been living for a long time faking illness.
He made his escape on Dec. 12, 2008, the day Papadopoulos died of cancer at the age of 74, but was recaptured three months later.
The remains of the ex-president were stolen on Dec. 11, 2009, one day before family and political friends were to hold a memorial service for him on the anniversary of his death.
Police say the man from India was the anonymous caller who informed the Papadopoulos family where his remains had been hidden.
In a statement to the police, he said he and an accomplice had stolen the remains for ransom and also as leverage to secure favorable treatment of Kitas by prison authorities.
He said they had asked the family of the former president to pay 200,000 euros (270,000 U.S. dollars) for the return of his remains. When the family refused, they dropped their demand to 100,000 and later to 50,000 euros.
The family said they paid no ransom money on the advice of police.
The Indian man told police he decided to act alone and demanded money from the family in exchange for information. When they refused, he decided to give the information for free.
A police source told Xinhua the culprits had lost their nerve when they realized the police were close to identifying them.
Source: Xinhua
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