Appellate court overturns conviction for 2021 Arakapas wildfire

The Cyprus Court of Appeal has unanimously overturned the conviction of a 69-year-old man previously found guilty of sparking the devastating 2021 Arakapas wildfire. The defendant had been serving an eight-year prison sentence, of which he had already completed three years. The catastrophic blaze, which began on July 3, 2021, resulted in the deaths of four Egyptian laborers and destroyed approximately 55 square kilometers of land across 10 communities in the Limassol and Larnaca districts.

In its ruling, the appellate court declared that the original verdict was based on mere conjectures rather than evidence proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The lower court had relied on circumstantial evidence, such as the defendant’s presence at his orchard, the discovery of lighters in his vehicle, and his departure for a nearby village while the fire spread. The appellate judges identified significant flaws in this reasoning, noting that alternative access routes to the ignition site existed and that the existing evidence remained insufficient for a criminal conviction. Following the decision, the defendant has been acquitted.