Stelios Philanthropic Foundation will give €70,000 in financial aid to the closest relatives of five women and two children murdered by a self-confessed serial killer.
A 35 year old Cypriot army officer who has been in custody since mid-April is due in court tomorrow to be charged for the spate of killings that has led to the resignation of the Justice Minister, the sacking of the police chief and a shake-up in the way police handle cases of people reported as missing.
The man, who went by the online name of Orestes, has reportedly confessed in writing to the seven killings and showed police where he had dumped the bodies at four locations.
The government earlier this week said it would be giving the children of the victims €17,000 each as a small, but practical gesture of support by the state.
The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation will give a lump-sum of €10,000 to the next of kin of each victim.
The only precondition is that the next of kin must submit a written request for the grant to Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, providing evidence of their relation to the victim. The order of priority in determining the next of kin is as follows: the spouse, followed by the father, mother, eldest adult child, eldest adult sibling.
“I have been monitoring the latest developments in this tragic case and I am as shocked like everyone else in Cyprus by the heinous crimes against these five women and their two daughters.
“They came to Cyprus for a better life, but they ended up losing their lives in a tragic way. I am aware that no money will ease the pain of the relatives of the deceased, but expressing the respect of my fellow Cypriots in the sanctity of the human being, irrespective of race, religion, nationality or any other criteria, I feel the need to help, so that the husbands, parents and children of the victims, will be able to cover some expenses that they may have during this difficult time,” Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou said in a press release.
Relatives of the victims must contact the representative of the Foundation in Cyprus, Marios Missirlis via email ([email protected] ), sending all the necessary information regarding their exact family relation to the deceased, contact details, and their bank account details (including IBAN).
Beneficiaries may also get in touch for clarifications by visiting in person the headquarters of Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, 5 Markou Drakou street in Nicosia, Cyprus (next to Ledra Palace, Monday to Friday, 08:00 -12:00, until the end of July 2019).
Payments will be made by bank transfer during August 2019.
Given that five of the victims are from the Philippines and two are from Romania, the announcement will be forwarded to the embassies of these countries in Cyprus and the Foundation will work with them to locate the next of kin of each of the victims.
The announcement will also be forwarded to the local media in the Philippines and Romania.
Read more
https://in-cyprus.com/serial-killer-case-government-to-give-e17000-to-each-child-of-murdered-women/
