Nicosia, Cyprus. A 41-year-old Ukrainian national has pleaded guilty to advertising and promoting the sale of property in the north that belonged to Greek Cypriots prior to 1974. Estate agent Denys Pohodin pleaded guilty on Monday to 18 of the 36 charges he faces.
Properties and locations cited
Pohodin advertised properties in the Famagusta district villages of Ayios Sergios, Gastria, and Akanthou, in the Kyrenia district villages of Kalogria and Ayios Amvrosios, and in Trikomo.
Case status and next hearing
The next hearing will take place on May 11, and it is expected that the remaining 18 charges will be suspended.
Arrest and custody
Pohodin was arrested at Larnaca airport in March last year and has remained in custody since then.
Recent prosecutions and related cases
His guilty plea comes as the Republic of Cyprus has doubled its efforts in recent years to prosecute those it accuses of illegally advertising the sale of, and erecting building on, Greek Cypriot-owned property in the north.
Israeli property developer Simon Aykut was in October last year sentenced to five years in jail after pleading guilty to 40 charges related to the development and sale of Greek Cypriot property in the north. He was sent to Israel last week to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
In May last year, two Hungarian women were sentenced to two and a half years and 15 months in prison respectively after advertising the sale of houses in the north on their social media accounts and websites.
More recently, the Republic of Cyprus failed to secure the extradition of 39-year-old Iranian national Behdad Jafari, who was arrested upon his arrival at Nice airport last year and later released after a French court found that, because the European Union’s acquis communautaire is suspended in the north, it cannot be applied there.
What do you think the May 11 hearing will mean for the remaining charges in the case?