Cyprus begins probe into murder of Pakistani man

NICOSIA: Cyprus police on Sunday began criminal investigation into the death of a Pakistani man who was allegedly shot by police earlier this month by appointing an independent investigator.

In a statement issued by Attorney General George L Savvides, the decision followed a briefing by the chief of police regarding the ongoing inquiry into the incident.

Savvides said he had appointed an independent "criminal investigator in relation to the circumstances of the death of a young man from Pakistan".

"Senior Counsel of the Republic, Mr Ninos Kekkos, will lead the investigations being conducted by the police."

The move comes a day after authorities said the Pakistani national was fatally shot with a police service weapon.

The announcement followed a postmortem exam that contradicted an initial forensic analysis ruling out criminal circumstances.

According to the postmortem, a bullet wound was found on the right side of the man's back.

Police found the 24-year-old's body in a field in a suburb of the capital Nicosia on January 6, a national holiday.

Several days later, police disclosed an earlier incident in which officers had fired shots during an attempt to intercept and arrest suspects, saying the death could be connected.

Local news website Phileleftheros reported Sunday that three police officers were being questioned over the shooting, which happened in a different place from where the body was found.

Phileleftheros reported that police had said shots were fired at the tyres of a vehicle believed to be involved in illicit migrant smuggling near the line that divides the island into the UN-recognised south and the Turkish-backed north.

Irregular migrants frequently cross the so-called Green Line from the Turkish Cypriot north into the more affluent Greek-speaking Cyprus Republic.

Phileleftheros reported that the health ministry has requested a report from the police on the incident so it can review the forensic expert´s findings.