AFTER spending 26 years in jail for killing two people, Andreas Aristodimou, aka Yiouroukkis, yesterday became the first lifer to be released on parole.
“We are convinced that the applicant deserves a second chance to start again and reintegrate into society, an event that would help him and his family and also send the right messages to convicts and society in general,” the parole board said in its 16-page decision.
Yiouroukkis, the longest-serving convict in Nicosia’s Central Prison, had been sentenced to life in prison at the age of 24 for killing Maria Teloni and Artin Bahadourian.
In a brief interview at his home with state broadcaster CyBC, an emotional Yiouroukkis thanked the parole board, the state and society for affording him a second chance.
Cyprus Mail