Commissioner for Children’s Rights Leda Koursoumba has criticised the authorities for repeatedly failing to reform delinquent teenagers, following the murder remand of a 17-year-old with a long history of anti-social behaviour and law breaking.
Koursoumba confirmed that a law proposal intended to address troubled youths that repeatedly commit crimes was submitted to the House for discussion in June.
“There has been no response whatsoever over the proposal which was the result of a two year study and much hard work conducted by experts in the field.”
Commenting on the murder case, Koursoumba said she warned the authorities on several occasions that prime suspect Alexis Anastasiou, 17, was a potential danger to himself and others.
“Unfortunately, the situation we have now is the result of the state’s failure to protect these youths and rehabilitate them. The number of teenagers in this situation is increasing and the police are aware of this as they handle the cases.”
On Wednesday, two men, aged 27 and 34, were remanded for two days in custody on suspicion of complicity in the murder of Michael Antony Louis Mina (far left in the photo) in Larnaca on Sunday morning.
Case investigator George Charalambous told the Larnaca District Court that the two accomplices drove Anastasiou to the block of flats where Mina lived in the Mackenzie Beach area on Sunday morning so that he could confront the victim, who he claimed was harassing his girlfriend.
When the teen returned a few moments later he said: “Let’s get out of here, I think I killed him”.
Both men told police that Anastasiou had been carrying an army-style knife with him on the evening before the murder but claim they had no idea he intended to kill the victim.
Charalambous added that according to Anastasiou’s testimony, when he confronted Mina in the car park outside the block where he lived with his two sisters, the victim came at him with a blade first and he was forced to stab him.
“We are investigating this crime as a case of premeditated murder,” said Charalambous, adding that police will be taking another 30 statements from witnesses and examining the pending results of forensic testing on the car the suspects drove to the crime scene.
After Anastasiou was arrested on Sunday evening he drove investigators to an area near his house where he had earlier buried the murder weapon and police retrieved the knife.
He was detained in police custody for eight days.
A third man aged 26 has been charged with abetting a crime after he agreed to hide Anastasiou’s bloody clothes following the murder.
In an interview with Phileleftheros newspaper, the victim’s father Minas Loizou said he hopes to meet with the Minister of Justice to demand that Cyprus immediately implements reform programmes for delinquent teenagers who display potentially violent behaviour.
“I wish to describe to the minister the pain I felt on Sunday when police woke me up to tell me my child had been killed. It’s still hard to accept that Michael is dead less than a month after we celebrated his birthday.”
Anastasiou has been known to police from a young age for a series of offences, including burglaries, drugs and family violence.
Although he was convicted he did not serve time in an institution because of his age.
Cyprus Weekly
Larnaca murder reveals juvenile justice flaws
