Court of Appeal acquits man jailed over 2021 Arakapas fire

Arakapas, Cyprus. The Court of Appeal on Tuesday unanimously acquitted a 69-year-old man who had been sentenced to eight years in prison over the 2021 Arakapas fire, finding that the evidence did not establish his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. He had already served three years of the sentence.

Fire and original conviction

The fire broke out on July 3, 2021, killing four Egyptian labourers and burning around 55 square kilometres across 10 communities in the Limassol and Larnaca districts.

The man had been convicted of deliberately setting fire to trees in Arakapas and of starting fires in the countryside without a permit.

The criminal court found that he had been working in his orchard before the fire, had access to the area where it began and left shortly before it was discovered. Two lighters were found in his car.

The court also considered his movements after he left the orchard. He went to a kiosk in Arakapas and reported that reeds were burning, before travelling to Eptagonia for coffee while the fire was spreading.

Appeal ruling

The Court of Appeal found that these circumstances were insufficient to establish that the man had started the fire.

It also questioned the original court’s reasoning on how the blaze began. A deputy fire brigade chief had concluded that the fire was probably caused by an open flame, possibly a lighter, after other possible causes were excluded.

The appeals court said this remained a possibility rather than an established fact.