An individual suspected of assisting a Turkish Cypriot man in the abduction of his British toddler son in Cyprus has been taken into custody. Authorities reported that the 29-year-old father seized the two-year-old child from the residence of his British mother in the popular vacation destination of Limassol after entering the premises with another individual. The pair then purportedly fled in a small white car.
Law enforcement officials have apprehended a 53-year-old Turkish Cypriot man in connection with the kidnapping, indicating potential collaboration with the child’s father, who is currently being sought by the police. The escape vehicle, later found by the police, was discovered within the British Bases, as stated by Limassol Deputy police chief, Lefteris Kyriakou.
The child’s father was already under an arrest warrant for domestic violence following a report by the mother in November of the previous year. Kyriakou mentioned that investigators believe he illegally entered Cyprus from an uncontrolled point in the northern Turkish-occupied territories of the island.
The case was brought to the attention of the Bicommunal Technical Committee on Crime, responsible for managing cross-community criminal activities between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot populations, according to Kyriakou. The mother, part of the ‘Hope’ program aiding domestic abuse victims, has access to a safety mechanism where pressing a button on her phone can alert the authorities in case of danger.
During the alleged abduction, the woman did not activate the emergency button, which could be attributed to shock, Kyriakou pointed out. Reports from Cypriot news source SigmaLive suggest that the suspect used a rented vehicle, accompanied by the 53-year-old individual, to approach the mother’s residence.
At the scene, he reportedly assaulted the woman and tried to push her into a pool before taking the 23-month-old child and fleeing. The father is believed to have returned to Famagusta, a city under Turkish Cypriot jurisdiction on the eastern coast of the island, where he allegedly shared a video of the child on social media.