President Cyprus Nikos Christodulides announced resignation of the police chiefhis deputy, as well as the acting head of the prison services. The decision was announced urgently, immediately after Christodulides' return from New Yorkwhere he participated in a session of the General Assembly UN.
The reason for the decision was the escape of one of the prisoners. A 42-year-old man escaped while being transported from prison on Thursday for a meeting at the family home in Paphos – reported the Cyprus Mail website. The fugitive was recognized on Sunday while shopping in a store in the city of Limassol.
Cyprus. The criminal escaped while being transported from prison. Outrageous negligence by the police
Three policemen and four guards who guarded the prisoner during transport, have been suspended. A 26-year-old man was detained on suspicion of helping the convict escape.
The fugitive is held life imprisonment for killing his 24-year-old partner and her four-year-old daughter in 2011.
Prisoner escape outraged Cypriot public opinion and tainted the reputation of the national police, the AP emphasized. President Christodulides is struggling with the common belief of his compatriots about the corruption and incompetence of officials.