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Corpse of Cyprus' ex-leader is found
Police arrested three men and said ransom was the motive. But the family disagreed.
NICOSIA, Cyprus - Three months after it was stolen, the corpse of Cyprus' former president was found reburied in another grave, and three men were arrested yesterday in what officials called a case of body-snatching for ransom.
Two spokesmen for former President Tassos Papadopoulos' family insisted, however, that his relatives had not received a demand for money.
The right-wing Greek Cypriot's body was stolen in December during slow-moving reunification talks with Turkish Cypriot leaders. A lack of clear motive and few clues led to speculation that it could have been politically motivated, but officials suggested early on that ransom was a more likely scenario.
The robbers removed a heavy marble plaque from on top of Papadopoulos' grave on the southern outskirts of the Cypriot capital, Nicosia, then dug down to the coffin and removed the body of the former president on Dec. 11, a day before the first anniversary of his death. The robbers left few leads at the scene.
Investigators sought the help of the FBI and Interpol as well as Greek and Israeli law enforcement.
But there was little progress in the investigation until Monday, when police found the body in another cemetery after being alerted by his family, who had received a telephone tip, police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said. Family spokesman Chrysis Pantelides said a man speaking broken Greek had called with information about the corpse and instructed them to contact police.
DNA testing early yesterday confirmed that it was Papadopoulos' body. It was found inside another grave and covered with a thin layer of soil, Katsounotos said.
Katsounotos said that the suspects would appear in court today and that police would request their detention. He provided no details on the three men's identities. A senior official, speaking anonymously because he is not authorized to comment on a criminal probe, said the suspects were a Cypriot convict, his brother, and a foreign national.
Justice Minister Loucas Louca yesterday disputed that there had been no ransom demand. He said that the family did receive a demand for ransom but that no money had been paid. Family members continued to maintain that no ransom demand was received. Pantelides, the family spokesman, said he would reclaim the corpse for burial after officials completed their probe.
Cyprus was divided into a Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north in 1974, when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of uniting the island with Greece. Papadopoulos, president from 2003 to 2008, was considered by many to be a champion of resistance against peace accords. He died of lung cancer in 2008 at 74.
