Suspects arrested in Greece over Demosthenous murder ‘consent to extradition’

The two men who were arrested in Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki, in connection with the murder of 49-year-old Limassol businessman Stavros Demosthenous consented on Friday to be extradited to Cyprus, according to reports.

The pair both appeared in court in Thessaloniki on Friday morning, with CNN reporting that they have both consented to be extradited to Cyprus to face judicial proceedings on the island.

CNN also reported that the pair will remain in custody until being handed over to the Cypriot authorities, with that handover expected to take place “in the coming period”.

Multiple outlets had reported on Thursday that the two arrestees are Greek nationals who originate from Georgia, and that both were residing in Cyprus at the time of the murder.

The outlets added that the pair had fled Cyprus to Thessaloniki after the murder, as they both have relatives who live there.

Stavros Demosthenous was most well-known for serving as chairman of second division football club Karmiotissa FC, and was shot while riding in the passenger seat of a car being driven by his 18-year-old son.

Then police spokeswoman Kyriaki Lambrianidou had said that the shooting “took place about 500 metres from the victim’s home”, and that “initial information suggests that the victim was shot from a vehicle travelling in front of them”.

After the shooting, Demosthenous’ son immediately drove towards the hospital but crashed on the motorway. He then flagged a car down to stop and asked the driver to take them to hospital.

Demosthenous was taken to the Limassol general hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His son was not physically harmed during the incident.